A Sibling Rivalry
by BlizzardNinja
Summary: Laila has been waiting for years to leave Blackthorn City and go on a pokémon journey of her own. However, she has to bring along something that most people leaving on a pokémon journey don't have to. What is it you ask? Her siblings. When traveling with and competing against your siblings, there may be many trials and joys. One thing is for sure: there will be a sibling rivalry.
1. Chapter 1: The Awaited Day

BlizzardNinja's Corner:

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy reading _A Sibling Rivalry_. This is the first fan fiction story I have written and the first story I have posted for others to read. I've had this story in mind for a few years now, and have finally decided to write it. So please read and review the story to help me advance my writing skills so that the story will be as good as possible.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, the series, games, or any of the merchandise associated with it. They are fully owned by Nintendo, GameFreak, and the Pokemon Company. However, the original characters I create are made and thought of by myself.

Now with the author's note and disclaimer out of the way, let's get on with the story! Enjoy everyone!

* * *

Chapter One: The Awaited Day

'_Being the child of a gym leader and a cop is not an easy feat. From a young age, there are high expectations and limitations about what a child in these circumstances can do. We are expected to be well behaved, strong, and brave. We are constantly compared to our parent's skills and asked if we've conquered the Silver Conference, the alternate name for the Johto League, yet. Unfortunately for us, our mom has had to raise us on her own for the last eight years. Throughout the years, when mom was battling challengers my older sister, Raveena, and I have been in charge of ourselves and our younger brothers. All that changes now that they have finally turned thirteen, the age our mom said we all had to be before she would let us go on our own journey,' _I thought to myself _s_miling as I looked up at the mirror and pulled my long chestnut colored hair into a ponytail and tightened it. Getting up from my chair, I grabbed my grey messenger bag and looked back for one last time at the room I've grown up in since my mom became a gym leader.

Honestly, I would have preferred to leave earlier to go on a pokémon journey but I had decided to train at home for a year or two before leaving on my journey. Unfortunately, my choice to delay leaving home would last for far longer than I had originally planned. Something happened shortly after I turned eleven years old. There were news reports from the Johto government and alerts being sent to the gym leaders of Johto that due to the amount of injuries and casualties that had occurred due to recent incidents caused by Team Rocket and some pokémon lashing out violently, the minimum age limit for new trainers to begin traveling was pushed back for an indefinite amount of time. Effective immediately, any new trainers or trainers under the age of thirteen who were still at home would have to stay in their hometown if they lived in the Johto region. Any new trainers or trainers under the specific ages listed in the reports had to remain in their hometown until they either reached the age of twelve and traveled in a group of at least four trainers or waited until the age of fourteen to travel alone. The trainers who were lucky enough to have started traveling and received their first pokémon were allowed to continue traveling but were warned to do so with extreme caution and to try to travel in groups of at least three people.

* * *

*Flashback*

When I turned thirteen and was finally getting ready to set out on my journey through Johto in a few months, my mom offered me a deal to try to keep me at home for an extra few years. When I had asked why, she said that she felt nervous about the idea of having me travel alone after so many dangers had occurred in recent times. She offered to take a three week vacation during the Silver Conference to take all four of us to either Kanto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh for a vacation and let me travel with her to any gym leader conferences she had to attend before the twins turned thirteen. I debated my choice for a month and a half before I finally decided to take her up on her main reasons I took the offer were that I wanted to spend one last vacation together as a family since we would all soon be traveling and Mom rarely ever took vacations or days off from the gym. The other reason was that I knew that if I left on my journey alone, not only would I be putting myself and my pokémon at risk but I would also be trapping my brothers into the same fate I had set for myself accidentally. I had just recently started to desire to go traveling but they had been talking about it since they were around six years old and first started watching pokémon battles.

That year my mom ended up taking all five of us to the destination I had chosen, the Hoenn region. We took the national railway from Blackthorn City's train station to Goldenrod City, stayed there and shopped for a few nights and then flew from Goldenrod City to Larousse City. While in Larousse, we went to go see the local pokémon contest that had Drew, the city's top coordinator who had placed second in last year's Grand Festival in the Hoenn region, as a surprise performer and guest judge. He had flown in from the Kanto region to help judge the contest and visit his family since he had already obtained three of the five ribbons he needed to participate in the Kanto Grand Festival. He gave a special performance featuring his Roselia and his Butterfree. The contest was amazing and we were stunned to see so many new pokémon. The winner of the contest was a young local boy who was named Tory and had used two pokémon called plusle and minun. They were both small bunny-shaped bipedal electric type pokémon. Minun had blue patches on his ears, a minus sign for a tail, and blue cheeks with a minus sign cut out of the middle of each cheek. Plusle was similar to minun but there were some key differences. Plusle had patches of red instead of blue, had red cheeks with plus signs cut out of them, and a plus sign shaped tail.

While in Larousse, we also went to check out the Battle Tower as it had a special tournament going on for three days and Mom had managed to get tickets together for all five of us to see the whole thing. It was called the Triumph Tournament and had a group of thirty-two competitors aiming for the top spot and a chance to battle the Hoenn region's ex-champion, Steven. The tournament was set up so that day one knocked the competitors down to the top eight by having the first round as a single battle and the next round as a double battle. Day two reduced the competitors to the top four through a series of three on three matches. On day three, they did full team battles and the winner was announced. It was a fierce tournament that produced many exciting battles and lasting memories. Nick had even been shouting and hopping in his seat a few times while Felix had jotted down notes on some well thought out battle strategies. After the winner was announced and given a trophy, he then left to the back room for his half an hour break before battling Steven. While the trainer rested, his team was being treated for any injuries they may have received throughout the battles of the day.

During the break, there was a draw held to determine a random winner of three prizes donated by the tournament's main sponsors. The seat number they called out ended up being the one where Nick was sitting. Nick and Mom went to go claim his prizes, excited to see what he had won. When he returned, he was carrying a folded red metal contraption while Mom carried a strange blue and yellow pair of goggles and a small yellow stone with a flame inside. We quickly asked them what the prizes were that he had won.

Nick first lifted the contraption that he was carrying with one hand, "This is an acro bike. It's one of the two top of the line bikes they sell here in the Hoenn region and was donated by one of the sponsors who owns a shop in Mauville City. It acts like an extremely versatile mountain bike that can let me use it to do special tricks and still rides easy in the city. I folded it up like this so that it would be easier to carry and that we could keep it with us while we watch the exhibition match."

Mom spoke next holding the weird goggles up. "This is a Devon Scope that was designed and donated by the Devon Corporation. It's supposed to allow the wearer to see hidden objects. They also mentioned that it might work on some pokémon, such as ghost types like gastly. The other item is a fire stone that evolves certain species of pokémon such as eevee, vulpix, and growlithe."

"Wow! That's an awesome prize! Congrats Nick!" I told him as I smiled.

"You're a lucky jerk, you know that?" Felix huffed, jealous that he was not the one who won the prizes.

Raveena looked at Felix and started pulling one of his cheeks. "Come on, grump, lighten up and congratulate your brother."

"Ow! Stop! Raveena, that hurts!" Felix cried as Raveena repeatedly pulled his cheek.

"If you want me to stop, then congratulate Nick for winning the draw," she retorted with a smirk as she enjoyed teasing her brother like this. It was a rare treat to be able to do this since he was usually so quiet and reserved.

"Okay, okay! Congratulations! Now stop pulling my cheek, Raveena!" Felix called out but his voice was distorted due to Raveena still stretching his cheek out.

Nick chuckled at the squabbling between Raveena and Felix before taking the Devon Scope from our mom and turning to me. "Here, I want you to have this as a thank you for getting Mom to bring us here. Besides, I think you may need it more than me with the amount of times you misplace your wallet and house keys," he said as he handed me the Devon Scope and started to laugh at the extra nudge he was able to give me. Mom, Raveena, and Felix all started joining in the laughter at his joke that was at my expense while I sat there grumbling about it being an exaggeration.

Soon, the winner's team was healed by the local Nurse Joy and returned to him. As he walked out, an announcement echoed in the arena announcing of his return to the battlefield and that the final match was about to begin. A few minutes later, Steven walked out and took his place on the opposite side of the battlefield. They soon released their pokémon and began to battle at full force. Unfortunately for the tournament winner, he had lost all six pokémon without being able to defeat any of Steven's. His team had been completely defeated by Steven's metagross in about twenty minutes. We just sat there staring in shock and awe at the power displayed by Steven and the only pokémon he had used. As we were about to leave the Battle Tower, Mom had one last surprise for us as she led us through a set of hallways instead of heading to the elevator to leave. When we arrived at our destination, she gave a few brisk knocks on the door and informed the person inside as to her identity before being given an answer to come in. She opened the door and ushered us in to meet Steven himself. After an hour of talking and answering our questions, he informed us that he had to leave to get to Lilycove City before the ferry leaves. Before he left, Nick asked if he would take a picture with the five of us to which Steven happily agreed.

* * *

I snapped out of my reverie as my aipom, Snatch, jumped at me and climbed up my other arm so that he was perched on my shoulder. He gave me a slight glare and nudged me with his tail trying to get me to leave. I rubbed his head and did what he was wanting as I opened my bedroom door. Looking at us in the mirror before I did my final tasks before being able to leave, I remembered something that might seem unusual. When we leave Blackthorn City, we may get some attention or funny looks because of Snatch. He's slightly different than other aipom that could normally be encountered. Instead of having a light purple coat and peach coloured hands, belly, and tail palm, he has a dark violet coloured coat and his belly fur, hands, feet, and tail palm look as if they were made out of gold. When I had first gotten him checked up at a Pokémon Centre, the nurse commented that his fur colour was unusual, even for abnormal coloured aipom. However, she had also said that he was fine health-wise but advised that we get Professor Elm to look at Snatch for some possible answers. We briefly shared a look amongst ourselves as the realization donned on us that after today we would not be seeing this room for quite a while. Smiling with a bittersweet feeling, I reached out and attached the six pokéballs on my dresser to my belt. There were five normal pokéballs on my belt and one luxury ball. The luxury ball had a golden star etched into it along with the word Snatch, as it was his pokéball. However, he was rarely kept inside it as he had made it rather obvious that he preferred being outside of the ball. With a sigh, I closed the door behind me and headed down the stairs to join my family for breakfast before our journey began.

"Mom! Felix is hogging the maple syrup again!" cried Nick as he reached futilely for the syrup bottle in Felix's hand.

"Ha ha ha! You're just jealous that I got it first," retorted Felix with a smirk as he poured the syrup on his stack of pancakes. Felix was loading the syrup onto his pancakes and smiling evilly at Nick, the silent threat of using all the syrup made clear as Nick glared back at him.

"Boys, that's enough. Finish your pancakes so we can give you your gifts. I've been looking forward to giving them to you and there is someone who has been waiting to start their journey with you," chastised our mom as she winked at me.

Within a few minutes, both Felix and Nick had emptied their plates and were waiting anxiously for their gifts. Raveena approached them first with a large gift bag in each hand, giving the dark red bag to Nick and the dark blue bag to Felix. Ripping the tissue paper out of their respective gift bag, each boy found a large backpack patterned with their respective color, black, and white. It was a fairly stylish and large bag that looked athletic yet casual at the same time. Black and white lines went up horizontally, vertically, and above the pokéball design on the front of the bag. Felix's bag had dark blue pockets and the top half of the front design was dark blue while the bottom half was white. Nick's was similar in design to Felix's except it was dark red instead of blue. Both boys smiled and thanked Raveena as they went to set down their bag.

"Before you put them down look inside your bag," Raveena instructed them with a smile and a wink.

Inside the bag was a box with four normal pokéballs and a special one. Nick's special pokéball was a heavy ball and Felix's special pokéball was a dusk ball. Nick grinned happily upon seeing his extra gift from Raveena and ran over to hug her. Felix briefly looked up at his brother's antics before going back to studying the pokéballs he was given.

"Thank you Raveena, these will be helpful on my journey," Felix calmly noted.

"Yeah thanks! These are awesome! I'm going to be able to catch so many cool pokémon with these!" shouted Nick as he held up his heavy ball.

Our mom approached them next with a wrapped rectangular box in each hand. Like Raveena's gift wrapping, the boxes mom gave the twins were dark red and dark blue respectively. Inside the boxes were a set of new clothes for each of them. Nick's box contained a long sleeved bright red hooded sweater with black cuffs and waistline. There were also silver lines that went straight up his sleeves and outlined the black. It had a deep pocket on each side of the zipper and a pocket on the inside as well. Underneath the sweater was a pair of fabric biking gloves that matched his new jacket in colors. They covered his hand and cut off after the second knuckle of each finger. The fabric by the fingers was the same bright red as his coat. There was a bright white line that cut across the red fabric on the top of his hand and separated the red from the black fabric at the bottom part of the top part of his hand. On the bottom of the gloves was a leather base to help strengthen the grip and protect the palm of his hands. Beside the gloves under the jacket was a baseball hat that Nick had been looking at. It was bright red on the base and bill of the hat with black and white stripes stretching in an alternating V pattern on the front half of the cap. There was also a dark blue pair of jeans and black coat with red and whites crossing diagonally at the bottom on the left side.

Nick stared in awe at his new clothes and quickly put on the new sweater over the black t-shirt he had been wearing. He then pulled on the new pair of gloves and put on the new hat with the bill sticking out behind him so that his bangs could stick out the front of the hat. He also admired his new coat and the pair of jeans a bit more before putting them in his bag from Raveena.

Felix then opened his box from our mom and had a similar coat, jacket, and gloves as Nick but with dark blue where the red was on Nick's. The baseball hat inside of Felix's box was a dark blue with a white curve that looked like the top half of a pokéball on the front side of the hat that was cut off by the bill. It was identical to the baseball hat that Felix's inspiration for wanting to become a trainer, the Kanto Pokémon League Champion, Red, had worn when he first received his title except that Felix's hat was dark blue instead of red. He also received a pair of dark grey cargo pants if he decided to switch out of his black jeans or the light grey track pants he had decided to pack. Felix smiled and put on his hat, coat, and gloves. He then packed the jacket and cargo pants in his new bag.

"Don't forget about my gift you two," I reminded them with a calm smile as I handed a wrapped box to Nick and Snatch handed a wrapped box to Felix. Inside each box was a shiny metal case with the map of Johto engraved on it. In the top left corner was their name and in the bottom right corner Johto was written in simple but nice writing. Nick's had a dark red tint to the cover while Felix's had a dark blue tint to the cover. On the inside of the cases were black frames made of a solid material with cut outs for the badges of Johto on the bottom and pin holders for ribbons on the top. Under each cut out was a small silver rectangular plaque that could be engraved with the location and date of each ribbon and badge received. "I wasn't sure which path either of you would choose, so I thought it would be best to get the base for both just in case," I added in as I started rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment at the looks of awe they each had as they stared at the cases I had given them.

"That's easy, sis!" Nick shouted with a huge smile on his face. "I'm going to try both and I'll fill this case you gave me."

"I'm going to get eight badges and do my best to win the Johto league," Felix replied before looking at our mom. "That means I'll be back here to challenge you when I have seven badges, mom."

"Good! I wouldn't have it any other way," mom retorted with a smirk. She then looked towards Nick and I. "If either of you decide to challenge me as well, I welcome your challenges."

"Of course I'll be back here to challenge you for my eighth badge," I told her as I pulled out my own case for both badges and ribbons to show her the engraved labels under the empty gym badge placements. My case was similar in design to the cases I had given Felix and Nick but was slightly different as it was a dark purple on the cover and the map and writing was engraved in a golden color, matching Snatch's fur. I had already decided on what cities I would be aiming for if I decided to continue aiming for the pokémon league after my first gym battle so I had already gotten the locations engraved. The metal labels under where my future ribbons would go remained blank for now as I was not sure where and when I would win them, if I did manage to win any.

I glanced at the clock as I put my case away. Upon seeing the time I started to get up and put my dishes in the sink. "I have to go do something before we leave. Why don't you two go finish packing and say goodbye to your friends who are in town before you leave? I'll meet you at the southern hill in a couple hours," I told Felix and Nick as I gave my mom a hug and headed towards the front door.

"If you don't want to say goodbye to your friends, you could always come with me," Raveena commented with a devious smile and a mischievous glint in her eye as she stared at us. "Maybe we could even drag Laila along if she's not out of here too soon. It never hurts to have a wing man or woman with you when scoping out hot guys. Besides, the cute assistant at the Pokémon Center smiled last time I was there with you little ones."

"N-n-no, you can go flirt by yourself. We don't want any part of it!" We stammered simultaneously as we snuck back towards the door desperate to get away from Raveena. As soon as we reached the door, we bolted towards our destination – and as far away from the Pokémon Center as possible.

Staring out at the long dirt road towards New Bark Town, I couldn't help but smile. It was almost time for me to finally be able to start exploring the Johto region. I thought it was kind of bittersweet that I would be starting my journey with my younger brothers and guided by our older sister. I wouldn't be getting the total independence most people did with a pokémon journey but at the same time I would not be alone. At the moment, I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, I felt somewhat hurt and controlled since even though I would finally be able to leave Blackthorn City, I would still have limitations set on my freedom that have been enforced and imposed by my mom. However, I also felt somewhat happy because I knew that I would not be alone and that I would get to see my family for a bit longer before we all grew up and went on our own individual journeys.

I started to walk towards a tall pine tree on one of the hills on the side of Route 45, which lead to New Bark Town. It was on one of the many hills on the route and had a good view of both Blackthorn City and the southern hill, which was the first hill on Route 45 when leaving Blackthorn City. Looking down route 45, I could also see the winding river and wooden bridges amongst the hills towards New Bark Town. We would soon be walking down that road and beginning our adventure. I could hardly wait, but first I had to figure some things out and think about my overall plans for the journey.

Sitting down under the pine tree on the hill, I pulled out the three pokéballs I had hidden in my bag. Carefully, I held them and looked at the star outline I had engraved on each of them. One of the engraved stars was an alternating white and sky blue, one switched between a dark purple and light brown outline, and the last one switched between a lime green and burgundy outline. Smiling, I replaced three of the plain pokéballs on my belt with the three engraved ones. However, I made sure to line them up in a specific order: Snatch's luxury ball, the purple and brown star, the green and burgundy star, the white and blue star, and then the two plain pokéballs.

With that finished, I pulled out two paper copies of the Johto region map. One of them I had bought at the Pokémart when I first turned ten and I had marked on the back things I wanted to do and circled different towns I wanted to visit. The one beside it, I had bought last week and it was unmarked. I decided to leave the new map unmarked and pulled out a notebook and pen to jot down the main things I was planning on doing when I was ten that I still wanted to try. I also pulled out my combination ribbon and badge case. I pondered where I should and would be able to win my five ribbons and what path I should take so that I would be able to obtain all eight badges and the five ribbons I needed to compete in the Johto Grand Festival and the Silver Conference, the Johto region's Pokémon League. However, I knew one city I badly wanted to win the ribbon of and if I managed to do so, it would be one of my greatest victories.

Looking up, I saw my two younger brothers and older sister waiting at the south hill. Getting up from my spot and walking towards them I observed what they were doing. The boys were busy talking amongst themselves, probably about the upcoming journey and which pokémon they would choose to be their starter. Raveena was watching two of the pokémon she was bringing on the journey with her run around while holding onto the third. The pokémon in her arms was her newly hatched smoochum, Smooch, who matched her nickname by being as flirtatious as her trainer. Smooch also wore a necklace that was made especially for her around her neck. The necklace was an everstone carved into the shape of a small heart with a tiny diamond in the middle of it. Surrounding the everstone heart and part of the connecting rope were small sheets of ice that Smooch made which further protected the everstone. Raveena had originally given the necklace to her to prevent Smooch from evolving into a jynx and as a gift to try to strengthen their friendship. Her other pokémon were her starter from when we lived in the Kanto region, Ivy the ivysaur, and her first captured pokémon after we moved to the Johto region, Grant the granbull.

Despite living at home for most of the time and coming on the journey with us, Raveena had gone on a journey of her own before today. She had traveled around the Kanto region with some friends back when she was thirteen. She had tried to make it to the Kanto Grand Festival but ended up only earning three of the five ribbons needed to be able to go to the Grand Festival. When her friends that she had been traveling with brought her back home, she had been devastated. She even locked herself in her room for a week only opening the door to use the washroom or get something to eat. When I asked her to explain why she was so devastated, she had explained to me how contests work and how a coordinator needed to earn five ribbons in order to be able to participate in the Grand Festival. Despite working her hardest and planning the best appeals she could, she had only managed to earn three ribbons when the Grand Festival started. Her rivals and one of her traveling companions had managed to earn all five ribbons and had to go participate. After watching them participate and rank in the Grand Festival, she was heartbroken and realized how far under their level her skills as a coordinator were. After that, she decided to just go and travel with her pokémon when she wanted to and otherwise just stay home and help our parents with us while they were at work. She may have been a great help to our parents by watching us while they were at work, but I know that she is capable of more than that and I hope that this journey will reopen her eyes to that fact.

Seeing my approach they started to slowly walk towards me. Raveena returned Ivy and Grant before turning to me. She briefly looked at me then both of my brothers before smiling and asking, "So, are you all ready to get this show on the road?" With an excited nod from each of us, she smiled brighter than before and started leading us down Route 45 towards New Bark Town.

"Yahoo! This party is finally getting started!" Nick screamed as he started to run down the route.

I smiled and shook my head watching him. "I'm just glad that I finally get to leave Blackthorn City," I commented as I sped up to catch up to Nick.

"Ha ha, yeah, and when we get to New Bark Town, I'll finally get a pokémon of my own," Felix replied as he started to run beside me.

Raveena followed behind us and smiled knowingly. She knew the joys and challenges we might face on this journey and she would be there to watch us go through this next step of our lives. Picking up her pace, Raveena could not help but to think to herself, 'I never expected that the next time I left to travel around would be with my siblings. Looks like I get to watch the next generation grow after all.'


	2. Chapter 2: A Rocky Start to a Journey

BlizzardNinja's Corner:

Hey everyone! Here's chapter two of _A Sibling Rivalry_! I hope you all enjoy it as it was fun to write and has some adventure and feel good moments in it. This chapter is essentially the beginning of their journey as they are on the road and gives some good character development.

I'd like to take a moment to thank any reviewers, readers, and followers of my story both now and in the future. I enjoy coming up with the ideas for different stories like this and I'm glad that I have finally started to write a story and post it online for all of you to be able to read instead of keeping them in my head and as notes on my computer and phone. Ha ha ^_^' Honestly though, I am appreciative of any and all people who take the time out to read, review, and/or follow my story. Speaking of reviewers, I'd like to thank DuplexBeGreat for giving me my first review for the story and pointing out some areas I can improve on or clarify in purpose as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the series, games, or any of the merchandise associated with it. They are fully owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and the Pokémon Company. However, the original characters that I create are made and thought of by myself.

Now with the author's note and disclaimer out of the way, chapter two is front and center! Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Two: A Rocky Start to an Eventful Journey

Raveena, Felix, Nick, and I walked down Route 45 at a casual pace as we tried to take in as much of the surrounding environment as possible. Felix and Nick had never been on this route before so everything on it was pretty much new to them. The twins were amazed to see how tall the pine trees were up close and how high the mountain peaks actually were when walking beside the mountains. There was a musky yet clean smell that came from the mixture of the pine forests, the mountains, and the river we were walking along on the route. We would occasionally see different pokémon climbing the mountains and hanging in the trees as we walked by. Most of the pokémon continued what they were doing not even noticing us. Others would stop and watch us walk through; some of them even seemed to be seeing humans for the first time.

I was amazed at the differences and how it felt to be travelling down Route 45. However, I was not as overwhelmed as the twins since I had traveled briefly on the top edge of this route before unbeknownst to my siblings and mother. Despite that, I still found the contrast between the overall serene nature of Route 45 and the bustling atmosphere of Blackthorn City to be quite hard to comprehend, especially considering the proximity they had to each other. Despite being surrounded by mountains except for the field like opening to this route, Blackthorn City was not exactly what one would picture as natural. There were a lot of trees and grassy areas in the city, but it was not the same as being out in the real mountain paths. In Blackthorn City, there were always people walking around at their brisk pace trying to catch a fast lunch before having to return to work. There were people talking on their phones, people running around the city, and even the odd coordinator or trainer commanding their pokémon to perform certain tasks in their efforts at training. Compared to the quiet that was being felt in the calm nature of this route, the city was incredibly busy.

Snatch was in a relaxed daze on my shoulders as he laid his head against mine with his eyes closed. He was just quietly listening to our footsteps on the rocky path as he started to drift into sleep. However, we soon felt a sharp tremor come from a part of the mountain we had just passed. Upon looking, we saw a group of graveler fighting among each other beside a pile of berries. Each of us quickly concluded that they were fighting about the food and that we should hurry along further down the path. As we were about to turn to walk back down the path at a quickened pace, Raveena saw something out of the corner of her eye.

When she looked closer, she could see a little teddiursa peaking around one of the nearby boulders of the fighting graveler. Raveena happily squealed when she saw it as she had always wanted to capture one. Quickly, she grabbed a pokéball and let out the pokémon inside. "Ivy, see that teddiursa up there?" Raveena asked her pokémon as she pointed towards said teddiursa. After receiving a nod in reply, Raveena smiled. "Can you use your vine whip attack to try to grab it for me? I want to try catching it!"

Ivy chuckled before smiling and sending out two vines from underneath her flowering bulb on her back as quietly as possible. The vines stretched the thirty feet to teddiursa and silently but gently wrapped around it. Upon being grabbed, teddiursa let out a startled cry and quickly grabbed an old grocery bag beside it that was stuffed with berries. The graveler turned towards the sound of teddiursa's cry. Upon seeing it, the bag full of berries, and then the connecting vines to Ivy, they became irate very quickly. Ivy quickly pulled the teddiursa to the ground by us before letting it go and quickly backed up. Ivy lightly grabbed Raveena's wrist and started pulling her back as well. Some of the graveler remained at the top of the hill staring at us while a few of them had rolled down and began to walk towards us.

Seeing this, teddiursa sprinted towards us, jumped into Felix's arms, and then vaulted over him before running as fast as possible down the route, the plastic grocery bag full of berries still on its back. The four of us and our pokémon just looked at each other stunned at the weird reaction and the speed that teddiursa had displayed. Snatch and Ivy quickly snapped out of it and made us realize the situation we had been thrown into. The group of graveler on the hill were scowling at us and shifting towards us. The other group of graveler were barreling towards us using a rollout attack to cause as much damage to us as possible.

Raveena quickly returned Ivy to her pokéball and we dashed further down Route 45 but we all knew we had to try to get away from them somehow. Obviously, we had to try to throw them off of our tails and the best way I thought that was possible would be by getting them to take an alternate route. Seeing the path split up ahead, I decided to dash to the right as that was the further path from their current direction.

Upon seeing us diverge onto different paths, the higher group of graveler called down to the other group to stop for a minute. I watched the higher group slide down the hill and begin to formulate a plan with the other group. After a brief glance in their direction, I dashed down the path and hopped over the ledge. I glanced back before hopping over and saw the brigade of rolling graveler split down the path. The ledge I had hopped over stood about ten feet from the previous and next level of flat ground. Taking a moment to look around, I realized that I had been split up from my siblings. To make things worse, I heard the sound of frantic footsteps dashing towards my location and a low rumbling sound behind it. The footsteps stopped and whatever was making them had completely silenced. I looked up and saw Felix standing on the ledge above me. He had a glazed look of fear in his eyes as his hands and legs started to tremble.

"Felix! You have to jump down the ledge," I called to him frantically as I saw him staring at the edge of the ledge like a frozen stantler in the path of a hyper beam attack.

"B-but," He began before being cut off by me.

"No buts! Just jump down here and I'll protect you from there!" I commanded as I readied myself to try to jump back up there in order to get him to move.

He looked at me and gave me an analyzing look for a moment as if he were looking for verification in what I had told him. Seeing me ready to climb back up, he stepped forward precariously. Gulping, he jumped and landed with his knees bending as he embraced the impact before they buckled under him. Quickly, I pulled him up and dragged him so that we were underneath the edge of the cliff.

"Laila, what do we do now? We're separated from Nick and Raveena, we have a horde of graveler rolling towards us, and our only form of defense is Snatch!" He asked me as he began to outright panic at the situation we were in.

"First off, we have to stay as silent as possible and stay as close to the wall under this ledge as we can until the graveler roll over and passed us. Secondly, Snatch," I asked looking at my aipom. When Snatch looked back at me and turned his head to the side curiously, I continued. "I want you to stay on Felix's shoulder and protect him until we meet up with the others, got it?" I narrowed my eyes at his slight frown to emphasize that I meant what I told him to do.

Snatch nodded and switched to Felix's shoulder with a frown still on his face as he looked at me worriedly.

"Are you sure?" Felix questioned me as he glanced at Snatch and then back towards me.

"Yes, now be quiet. The vibrations in the ground are getting more intense which means the graveler are nearby," I instructed them with a fierce look to reinforce the message.

* * *

*Third Person POV*

Raveena and Nick were running as fast as possible down the left path on Route 45. Some of the graveler had stayed on their trail while some had followed after Laila and Felix towards the right path of Route 45.

The group of graveler following Raveena and Nick barreled down the hills and actually used the ledge as a jump to increase their speed. As they ran, Raveena noticed a bend in the rock formation to their right up ahead and a long patch of grass following it. She smiled as she had a plan in mind. Silently, she reached for Ivy's pokéball once again and whispered her plan to her encased pokémon hoping that she could hear the plan. She then threw Ivy's pokéball towards the clearing and waited. Upon seeing Ivy's vines reaching for her, Raveena quickly pulled Nick so that he was against her and put her hand over his mouth to silence him. Ivy quickly wrapped her vines around them and pulled them to her side so that they were hidden by the large rock formation that they had just been running beside. Ivy then chucked two large round boulders down the path in the direction that Nick and Felix had been running and gave them a push to get them rolling. The graveler neared where the two humans and Ivysaur were, but they were distracted by the boulders that were substitutions for the two. They continued rolling past the trainers and pokémon, set on catching what they had mistakenly taken as the humans they associated the teddiursa to be working with.

Raveena thanked Ivy for saving them and managing to pull off the plan she had created. She pet Ivy's head and gave her a pecha berry, which was her favourite, as a reward for successfully doing it. Raveena and Nick then sat down against the rock walls and tried to catch their breath while Ivy ate her berry. When she was done, Raveena returned her and the two trainers began walking towards New Bark Town again.

* * *

The graveler soared over the ledge that Felix, Snatch, and I were hiding under and continued to barrel further down the hill. Unfortunately, as they continuously sped over the same area of the ledge the ledge began to weaken due to the amount of weight and the magnitude of the vibrations due to their rolling. It began to crumble and after the last one leapt over the ledge we were hiding under and continued on down the hill, the ledge began to fall and was about to pin us. Luckily for Snatch and myself, Felix realized this and pushed me out of the way and then leapt forward. Snatch and I were safe but Felix's ankle got stuck between parts of the rubble. Snatch and I carefully moved the debris away from Felix's ankle so that he could remove it from the pile and we could move him to a better location. Upon moving his ankle, he gritted his teeth in pain but finished through with the action. I went to his right side and helped him hop over to lean against the rock wall to our right and between the two ledges.

"I knew I had a reason for disliking those ledges," he tried to joke before wincing as he shifted his weight so that he could sit against the wall.

"Yeah, I guess you did have a reason for it. However, if you let a little hill stop you, how do you expect to make it into the Pokémon League and to win it? Remember, you're supposed to be challenging mom for your eighth badge and then battling me for the title in the league?"

"Yeah, mom would probably be devastated if none of us ended up challenging her for a badge when we get back to Blackthorn City," he laughed as he began to picture how she would react to finding out that none of her four children decided to challenge her gym.

"She prides herself on her title of gym leader and all of us. She loves telling us stories of the different kinds of battles she's had. If we fight her, she'll probably talk about it for years." I realized, both with a sense of happiness and dread. She just loved to retell her favourite gym battles until everyone around her could recite the story themselves.

I looked closer at Felix's leg and saw some red seeping through the right pant leg of his jeans. Carefully, I rolled the jeans up a bit so that I could get a better view of his ankle but not constrict the blood flow or put any further pressure on his leg. He had some scrapes down his leg and on the ankle. I knew that despite being painful for him, I needed to clean his wound and bandage it to reduce the risk of infection until we could have it checked and treated properly in New Bark Town. At this moment, I was extremely glad that I had taken the first aid and journey preparation classes that the Blackthorn City Community Center offered. I quickly opened my bag and pulled out a cloth, a bottle of water, and a first aid kit. I poured some of the water onto the cloth and gently patted it against Felix's scrapes in the best effort to clean the wound with what we had on us. After successfully cleaning the wound, I patted it dry with the dry part of the cloth. I then pulled out the tensor bandage that was in the first aid kit and began to wrap it around the base of his foot, slowly and lightly working up the ankle and the lower part of his shin. I pulled it tight each time I wrapped it around but watched his face to make sure I did not wrap it too tightly. When I finished wrapping it, I secured the end in place with the two metal clips and then pulled out a small piece of tape and taped over the clips to secure them. Quickly, I assessed the overall tightness and wrapping and smiled in approval before repacking the first aid kit in my bag. We decided to share the water and wait until we could see our siblings before we progressed any further down Route 45.

Felix stared at me as I was being quieter than normal and had a distanced look in my eyes as I was thinking. They all knew that this was not a good sign as it often meant that I was over thinking about something and would not drop it until I was satisfied. Sighing, he asked me the question on his mind, "Okay, why are you spacing out on me Laila? Usually you start to over analyze things when you have that look in your eyes and we all know that it's not safe for you."

I looked at him, stunned that he could pick up what I had been doing so easily. "Alright, I'll ask you what's been on my mind for the last half an hour or so. Why did you push me out of the way?"

He blinked as he stared at me. "You really have to ask that? I did it because you're my sister and I care about you. I realized the part we were standing under was about to fall and you apparently didn't so I pushed you out of the way and then jumped. If I hadn't, you'd probably be a pancake right now and how am I supposed to battle a pancake in the league? Besides, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I saw a chance to save one of my siblings and didn't do anything to try to save them. I don't want to put one of you in the hospital again, whether it be by accident or on purpose." He then rolled his hands into fists and started listening to some music through headphones to calm himself down.

'_I don't want to put one of you in the hospital again..?_' My eyes snapped open as I remembered the incident I was pretty sure he was referring to. It had been about 5 years ago, back when the boys were 8 years old. Mom had recently defeated a challenger by the name of Ash Ketchum and was determined to train her newly evolved dragonair. She had left me in charge since Raveena was out traveling the Johto region for a bit. While I was in the washroom, the twins had snuck out the back door and secretly tailed mom to the entrance to the Dragon's Den. After watching her get on the hidden boat she had near the entrance, the twins had begun to formulate ideas to continue following her. Meanwhile, I had just come out of the washroom when I realized they were both gone and so was Snatch. Walking outside, I saw Snatch perched near the top of the tree in our front yard watching something. After a bit of watching, he hopped down and grabbed my hand with his tail as he pulled me to follow him towards the Dragon's Den. Inside the den, the twins had decided to attempt to swim across since they were both good at swimming. Unfortunately, Felix accidentally kicked a gyarados in the head. The gyarados then breached the surface and was in a frenzied rage at the two as one of them had had the nerves to kick him. He started to use thrash and sent Nick flying across the lake. Luckily, when Nick hit a rock that stopped his flight, he fell to the ground at the base of it unconscious. The gyarados then turned and glared at Felix, readying a hyper beam. Felix tried to swim back to the shore and to safety as soon as possible. gyarados started to aim at Felix and was about to fire when a barrage of stars struck him in the neck. As a result, the gyarados shot his head up in pain accidentally firing his attack into the sky. Felix quickly swam back and pulled himself onto the ground at the entrance of the Dragon's Den. He then bolted and hid behind me, peaking around my side to see what would happen next. Snatch continued to fire barrages of stars, thanks to his swift attack, at the gyarados to keep it distracted while I took him to safety and asked him where Nick was located. He had pointed across the lake at a bright red bump that was not moving. Gulping, I nodded and told him to go back outside the cave and wait with one of the guards mom had assigned to watch the entrance during the day. I also ordered him to explain what was happening and what they had done to the guard in hopes of getting help. Luckily, mom soon came back to the entrance of the cave after seeing the hyper beam attack fired into the air. She sent out both her Dragonite and gyarados to defeat the raging gyarados and quickly did so. She turned and saw me at the entrance, starting to drive the boat towards me but stopped when she saw me pointing across the water. Seeing Nick bent and unconscious on one of the pieces of land, she revved up the motor and ran to him. Quickly and carefully she brought him back to the boat and steered the boat back to the dock. She pulled Nick out of the boat with her, handed him to me with a stern look, and quickly tied the boat to the dock. Nick was immediately taken to the hospital where he remained in a coma for a week. He had to stay there for another week after waking up as he needed to practice basic skills needed to live again such as walking. After that incident, Felix became more quiet, calculating, and protective of us but he kept an extra close eye on his twin who had remained as bubbly and social as ever.

After a while, Snatch began to shout further down the route. Hearing his calls, I snapped out of my reverie about the past and got up to look. We saw Raveena and Nick walking onto the path in front of us from the other path they had gone on when the graveler were following us. They seemed unaware of both Snatch's and my calls so I decided to try another tactic. Snatch used his tail to bounce further into the air and sent a swift attack for just in front of where my siblings were about to go. Seeing the barrage of stars, they immediately stopped and turned towards where they thought the stars had come from. They saw both me and Snatch waving frantically and approached the lower edge.

"I'm glad that both of you are safe," I commented as I looked them over for any injuries they may have obtained. Upon seeing that they had no injuries besides a few minor cuts and bruises, I released a sigh of relief.

Nick narrowed his eyes and immediately looked at me as he detected an obvious absence. "Where's Felix?" He questioned me as he worried about his twin.

"About that…"

"I'm alright. I injured my ankle from the ledge though," Felix replied as he finished the answer for me while he started to get up.

"What do you mean you injured your ankle on the ledge? Did you twist it, break it, or scrape it?" Nick started to fire out questions.

"How about you find me a long stick to act as a crutch and have Ivy help me down with vine whip to see for yourselves?" Felix retorted as he started to get annoyed with Nick's multiple questions.

Nick was about to retort to Felix's orders but realized right now, his brother was right. "Okay, hang on a bit while I go look for one." Nick said as he walked back down the path he had just been on. Raveena called for him to wait and sent out two of her pokémon, Grant and Ivy. Grant was instructed to go with Nick to find a suitable crutch for Felix while Ivy stayed with us and used her vine whip to help Felix get down the next two ledges with my help.

After helping Felix and me down and getting him settled, we began to discuss what happened after we split up. Raveena told us about how she had managed to get the graveler to roll by them and talked about how proud she was of Ivy. Ivy chuckled nervously at the praise and started pawing at the ground in embarrassment. Seeing this, Raveena kneeled down and started to pat Ivy's forehead and managed to calm her pokémon.

Nick then came up to us with Grant at his side and a tall well-built man wearing mountain climbing gear and a beige fedora with a red feather sticking out of it. The man stood around 6'4" and towered over Nick. The guy had a large scruffy dark brown beard and a cunning grin on his face as he looked at Raveena. Nick was oblivious to the man's actions as he walked over to Felix and handed him a stick that would be a good height for a makeshift crutch and then helped his brother stand up. Raveena was eyeing the hiker and Smooch and Ivy were in front of her in a protective stance as if to say she was off limits to him. Snatch was watching the hiker as well while I went to help out Nick and Felix.

"So, are you going to introduce us to the guy you brought back with you?" Felix questioned his twin. They had developed this habit a while ago after Nick would wander off and start chatting with some random person. Felix would then have to go and try to pull Nick away or would be roped into the conversation by his brother. It looked like this time it would be the latter, whether Felix liked it or not.

"This is Michael. He hikes around these mountains and lives over in Cherrygrove City, which is just south of here. He found me looking for a suitable crutch and when I explained what happened, he said he would help me get you to the gate between here and Route 29, which splits off between the gate, Cherrygrove City, and New Bark Town." Nick explained with a huge grin on his face while Grant nodded silently. He then turned to Michael and introduced each of us to him and we gave a greeting to him as Nick pointed to each of us.

"I agreed to help you, but you never told me about the ladies here," Grant commented with a smirk on his face as he looked at Raveena and me which caused us both to become more protective of our bodies. "Ladies, you and your pokémon can relax. I have a wife at home and I would like to remain faithful to her. However, I still think that the blonde would be a good potential girlfriend for my son." He said before he looked down the road where you could see a grassy field and a small glimpse of a building, which I assumed to be the gate house leading to Route 29, peaking out of the forest at the bottom of the ledge filled and mountainous Route 46.

Raveena stepped forward at that. "First of all, you said you would help my brothers. Are you actually going to help them or are you just going to stand there and stare at me and my sister in that creepy manner? If it's the latter, I cannot allow that and will have to use my pokémon's attacks on you. Next, I'm eighteen years old. I think you're son would be way too old for me and I doubt it would go well since I'd be meeting him through his father who I don't fully trust right now." She informed him sternly with a fierce look in her eyes.

Michael looked at Raveena for a moment longer then burst out laughing. "Darling, my son is twenty! I'm only forty-five. We're not some old creepy guys who have nothing else to do besides hit on women. Also, I think it would be dumb for somebody to blindly trust someone they just met. I like your guts for admitting it to me and trying to protect your siblings though." He reassured her as he looked at the mountain closest to us. "Now than, if you want me to help you all get to the gate to Route 29 and pretty much bypass Route 46 than you better follow me." He informed us as he started walking down Route 45 and eventually crossed a wooden bridge across the river in the middle of Route 45. After crossing the bridge, he approached a rock wall with a large fallen boulder leaning against it and sent out his golem. golem went to the boulder in front of us and began to use his strength to push the boulder aside. After doing so, Michael thanked his pokémon and walked into the tunnel. We quickly decided to follow him and after we went inside, his golem pulled the boulder back into position. Soon after we were enclosed in the darkness of the manmade tunnel, Snatch started to panic. I quickly tried to settle him down but it was to no avail so I decided to return him into his luxury ball.

Nick looked at me with a concerned expression on his face. "Why did Snatch start to panic? He's normally rather calm unless he's in one of his hyper modes."

"I'm not sure why he did. I've never seen him react like that. I don't know how but I'm going to try to get this figured out. That way I can hopefully manage to calm him in whatever situation makes him panic like that," I replied back as I stared at Snatch's pokéball trying to figure it out.

Raveena thought it would be a good idea to try to get my mind off of Snatch's odd behavior. "So, how did you know about this tunnel?" she asked Michael curiously.

We all looked up wondering that as well. It was obviously man made as there were support beams and mining lights strung throughout the tunnel. Also, the entrance had been blocked by a boulder in an obvious attempt to keep pokémon and unknowing trainers out.

"That's easy. My son decided to make it with his pokémon so that we could travel farther and faster through the mountains if we wanted or needed to do so. It wasn't that hard for him to do since he's a black belt, has a machoke, and is going to Violet University for the Architectural Engineering program." Michael informed us with a proud smile on his face. "I bet he sounds like a good catch now, eh, Raveena?" He asked with a smirk as he nudged our sister.

We all stared at Michael silently as we processed what he told us. We were still in shock when we reached the end of the tunnel and waited for golem to create an exit. When he finished moving the boulder, we walked back into the open air of Route 45. Raveena had a slight blush on her face and chuckled nervously when we all gave her an inquisitive glance about the cause of it. "Now I understand why Laila told me to stop trying to set her up on blind dates. It feels pretty awkward, but was it that awkward when I tried to do it compared to Michael who we just met?" She inquired to me about my past feelings about her matchmaking attempts.

"I can't say since I haven't had someone I just met try to set me up on a date. You know what they say about karma, right?" I replied back and walked away laughing as I followed closer to Michael.

"Raveena, you just got burned!" Nick called out as he threw a burn heal he had pulled out of his bag at her. He then caught up to me as he burst into laughter. I knew he was going to hold this story against Raveena for a long time.

Raveena clenched her fists in flustered humiliation and was about to retort back at us when Felix looked at her. "Before you do or say anything more, try to remember this. Revenge is often bittersweet." With that he continued to hop along cautiously through the tunnel as he let Raveena think about his words.

* * *

We were now on Route 46 and could easily see the gate to Route 29. We could hop down the ledges or we could follow Michael who headed for another rock wall with a boulder leaning against it and another boulder down at the bottom of the hill by the gate. We quickly trailed Michael through the tunnel and twenty minutes later we walked into the gate between Route 29 and Route 46.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, kids," Michael said as he readjusted his backpack.

"Yeah, same to you," Nick replied and we nodded along with him. "Also, thanks for helping me get my siblings to the gate quickly and safely. I'm not sure how long it would have taken us to reach the gate if you hadn't helped us."

"No worries, kid," Michael told him as he placed a hand on Nick's shoulder. "You did what any concerned and caring brother would do and I'm always happy to help someone in need, especially if they're in the mountains."

Michael then walked over to the counter and asked for two pieces of paper and a pencil. He wrote down his phone number and name on one of the papers and handed the other to Raveena. He then gave his number to Nick and explained that it was for if he ever needed help from him again. Raveena tried to hand back the paper with her name and cell number to Michael but he asked for our numbers as well.

"I would," Nick began, "but unfortunately we have to reject your request since Laila, Felix, and I don't have a Poké Cell of our own yet."

Michael nodded in understanding. "If you do get a Poké Cell, give me a call and I'd be happy to register you in my phone. That is, if you want to do so."

He was about to walk away when Raveena stopped him. "Would it be alright with you if I took your photo so that I can put a display picture with your contact information?"

"Only if you'll let me do the same," he replied with a grin.

She quickly used her phone's camera to take his picture and registered it as her display picture for his contact information in her phone. Now if she got any calls from him, it would show his picture and name when she received the call before she answered it. She then walked over to the three of us and Snatch and pulled us into a group photo with her. Nick and Felix were on the outside while Raveena and I were in the middle with Snatch's face being in the middle between Raveena and me on the lower part of the photo. We were positioned close together and smiled at the camera. It was actually our first picture together since we had left on our journey and it made me realize another thing I wanted to do.

While Raveena was talking with Michael about when not to call and asking for a copy of the picture, I quickly pulled out my list of things I wanted to do while on the journey through Johto with my siblings and jotted down the newest ideas: buy a Poké Cell, buy a good camera, and take a lot of pictures while on our journey.

After finishing their exchange, Michael said farewell to us and walked out of the gate house towards his own home in Cherrygrove City. Raveena talked to the guy behind the gate desk and asked about the fastest route to New Bark Town for tomorrow and asked if we could use one of the sleeping rooms for the night. The guard gave us permission and we followed him upstairs to one of the resting rooms for travellers and were shown where the washroom was located.

After re-entering the room we would be staying in for the night, we all put our bags down by the edge of the bunk beds. In the room, there were two bunk beds, a nightstand for each, and an alarm clock. We quickly chose where we would each be sleeping and finished our bedtime routine. Raveena set the alarm clock for 9 AM tomorrow morning and then we all went to sleep for the night. We fell asleep quickly from the exhausting events of the day and we knew we had a busy day planned for tomorrow. Tomorrow we were headed to New Bark Town where we would get Nick and Felix's starter pokémon and hopefully, some desperately needed answers about Snatch.

* * *

Well, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2! Just for future reference, if I have the siblings split up again the story will go into third person POV if Laila is not around unless I specify otherwise.

E.g. At different section, it may say something like:

*Nick's POV*


	3. Chapter 3: A Berry Eventful Day

BlizzardNinja's Corner

Well everyone, chapter 3 of _A Sibling Rivalry_ is here! In this chapter, they finally make it to New Bark Town and have a bit of family bonding while there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the series, games, or any of the merchandise associated with it. They are fully owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and the Pokémon Company. However, the original characters that I create are made and thought of by myself.

Now with the author's note and disclaimer out of the way, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3: A Berry Eventful Day

Reaching New Bark Town was taking us longer than we had originally anticipated. This was largely due to the fact that we had to slow down to accommodate for Felix's injury. Shortly after setting off down the path, the stick that Nick had retrieved to act as a crutch had snapped when Felix lost his balance and used it to help prop himself up. Unfortunately when he did so, the branch hit the sharp edge of a rock and cracked from having Felix's weight divided along the two sides. As a result, Nick and I were now taking turns to help him hobble along the path to town. Raveena slowly walked ahead of us with Smooch perched on her shoulder. They pointed out any areas we may have to watch out for while assisting Felix. Snatch had quickly taken to swinging around the different clusters of pine trees that lined the route while we walked. I enjoyed watching him play in the trees with few worries as long as he was in my line of sight. We had been traveling for four hours when we finally saw New Bark Town. I hope that when we head back down Route 29 that we will be able to traverse it faster.

Seeing a clock tower looming over the city square, we found out that it was around two in the afternoon. Sitting at a picnic table in the square, we began to plan out our day since we were meeting with Professor Elm tomorrow.

"So, anywhere specific you guys want to go?" I inquired.

Nick happily replied with, "I want to go see the berry fields! I hear that they grow some of the best berries in the whole Johto region. Besides, they could be pretty handy on our journey."

I grinned and turned to Raveena and Felix. "Nick's idea sounds fun! Do you want to go there with us?"

"Well, I think it should be pretty obvious where I want to go," Felix replied as he glanced at his bandaged leg.

Nick and I were stunned as in our excitement of finally reaching New Bark Town we had both completely forgotten about Felix's situation. "S-sorry, Felix. I guess we both just got too excited thinking about what we could do now that we've reached New Bark Town," I commented as I blushed slightly and rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. Nick nodded in agreement as he had an apologetic frown on his face as he looked at his twin.

Raveena then stood and lifted Felix up. "You two can go to the New Bark Town Berry Patch. I'll take Felix to the doctor and then get us a room for the night. Does that sound good?"

Nick and I both looked at Felix wanting his answer first. "You can both go, but you better bring us both back some good berries," Felix replied with a wink as he turned to Raveena.

As Raveena and Felix walked away, Felix quietly thanked his eldest sister. She smiled at him and pulled off his hat before ruffling his hair and replacing the hat. Felix started to grumble about having messy hair as Raveena laughed. Soon they were out of sight and left Nick and I to figure out how to get to the Berry Patch on our own.

As we started to walk towards the east end of town, both my stomach and Nick's began to growl. Looking at each other, we both laughed at the interruption to the silence that had enveloped us since we had decided which way to go. Nick spotted a small diner near the corner of the street that we were on. Walking inside, a lady in her mid-twenties approached us with a smile and an armload of plates. "Please choose a table and I'll be over to help you in a minute," she told us.

Nodding, I headed to a booth in the corner with a window facing the street. I quickly slid into the side against the wall, smiling as I had beat Nick to it. He soon sat down on the opposite side of the booth with a scowl.

"It's not fair. Every time we go out to eat and get a booth, you always choose your side first," he complained as he began to pout.

"The reason why is easy. I'm simply faster than you," I replied with a smirk as I watched him grit his teeth. I enjoyed being able to easily tease or wind up Nick. He was so easy to excite or aggravate. Especially if I could make him hyper and then let Felix or Raveena try to handle him. He quickly would drive them insane with the amount of random comments he would make.

Snatch had a wide smile on his face as he turned to both Nick and me. He pointed at me, then at Nick, and then pointed outside at a pair of trainers who were running. When he turned back to us and saw we were both looking he started to smile even more.

Putting the pieces together, I stared at him. "Let me get this straight. You want Nick and me to have a race?"

Snatch cried out happily as he started to nod his head excitedly. The huge smile on his face grew bigger as we had figured it out. Snatch then started to watch us apprehensively while he waited for our decision or thoughts about his idea.

Nick quickly smiled at him and piped up, "Sure! That sounds like fun. I'm not one to turn down a challenge. Unless, Laila wouldn't be interested since she's too scared?" He commented with a smirk at his challenge.

"If you want a challenge, that's fine with me. Where are we racing to though?"

Snatch gave us our answer by pointing out the Berry Patch on the placemat which was a map of New Bark Town in cartoon style.

"Alright, that sounds good since we were already on planning on going there. One thing though. How do we get to the Berry Patch?" I asked Nick hoping that he would have an idea.

It was at that moment that our waitress approached and began to explain, "I would have been over here to take your orders sooner, but you both seemed to be in a heated conversation. However, I think I can help you with your last question. I'll write out directions for both of you to the Berry Patch and give it to you with your receipt. Does that work?"

"That would be great! Thank you," Nick replied as I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, now that that's settled, how about I take your orders and get you all some drinks?" She inquired with a smile and glanced at Nick, ready to write down his order.

"I'll have a cola, two grilled cheese sandwiches, and a side of fries," Nick told her as he stared at the picture on the menu with a smile.

She smiled as she jotted down his order and then turned to me. "I'll have the hamburger with a side of fries and cola to drink. Also, can I get some pokémon food for Snatch?"

"Of course! What do you want on your hamburger and what kind of pokémon food do you want? We have regular, spicy, sweet, bitter, and sour pokémon food," she continued as she began to write down my order.

"On the burger I'll have ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, and some tomato. What kind of food do you want, Snatch?" I asked my partner.

Grinning, he held up two of the fingers on his hand-shaped tail.

"You want some spicy pokémon food?" The waitress queried. Snatch again began to fervently nod his head in reply. "Okay, very well. I'll be back with your drinks in a few minutes and your food when everything is finished."

I smiled and ruffled the tuft of fur on Snatch's head. Honestly, I was glad that we had both found ways to communicate and understand each other much easier than when we had first became partners. Back then, it would take ten minutes to figure out what the other was saying and we would both wind up confused and frustrated. Finally, one day after classes had finished at the community center in Blackthorn City, we had begun to think up an idea of how to at least communicate simple things. The main thing we both first thought of was the nodding and counting system he had displayed to our waitress.

Our systems for him were pretty basic. If it had to do with numbers or a list, he would simply hold up the amount of fingers for his answer or what he wanted. If it passed the number of fingers on his tail, he'd throw his arms up with his tail. If it was still more than that, he'd show the first digit and then flash the next digits until he reached his desired number. As for simple yes or no questions, he would shake or nod his head at least twice so that his answer would be straightforward and hard to misinterpret or not see. If he saw something he wanted or liked, he would point at it until I looked to see what it was and verified what I was looking at with him. Finally, if we were outside and someone was going somewhere and he needed them to stop; he would fire a swift attack at him so they would stop when they saw the barrage of stars crash against the ground in front of them. Figuring out the system was easy, but it took a while for him to be able to fully understand the questions asked of him in English.

Our waitress shortly arrived with our drinks and a plate with a bottle of ketchup, a salt shaker, and a pepper shaker on it. As she was about to leave, she noticed Snatch staring at our drinks. "Would you like a drink too?" She asked him and was given two quick nods and a smile. She then asked if she should bring a cup or bowl and was answered when Snatch wrapped his palm tail around my glass gently. "Is it alright if I bring your pokémon a glass of water?" She verified with me before leaving the table.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks for looking out for his needs as well as ours," I replied with a smile.

"Of course, that's my job after all," she then left the table for a second time as she began to check on the other tables. She stopped back at ours and gave Snatch a glass of water and asked if we wanted refills on our pop. We both said yes and she was about to leave but stopped and gave something to Snatch first. After I opened for him, he quickly realized that she had given him a pack of crayons to draw with while we waited.

Snatch smiled and called out happily as he saw the crayons. Quickly, he flipped over his menu and grabbed the blue crayon from my hand before starting to draw on the back of the menu in front of him. He started to draw blue squiggles at the bottom of the menu. Nick and I just watched Snatch having fun with smiles on our faces. We sometimes forgot that our pokémon need time to relax and have fun just as much as we do. After filling the bottom third of the page with blue squiggles, he switched for the green crayon. In the middle of the menu he drew a semicircle with the flat side facing the top part of the page. He then drew a green line pointing up and added two more lines, one horizontal and the other diagonal, so that they formed a triangle off the line pointing up. He then grabbed the yellow crayon and started to draw yellow spots on the top part of the menu's backside. He then grabbed the red crayon and drew a stick person and a stick aipom on the flat side of the semicircle on the opposite side of the triangle forming off the tall line standing up. Finally, he grabbed the purple crayon and colored around the yellow spots, stick figures, and green object in the middle of the page. He had left a large circle and the inside of the triangle white colored. After he was finished shading in with the purple, he slid the menu to me with a smile on his face. The picture he had drawn was a picture of me and him on a sailboat in the water at night with the stars and full moon shining overhead.

I was in shock as I stared at the picture. It was one of the sweetest things that Snatch had done for me since we became partners. I grinned as I placed the picture back down onto the table and a few tears escaped from my eyes. Leaning over, I pulled Snatch into a tight hug. He soon wrapped his tail around me and did his best to hug me back. Nick turned the picture so that he could look at it and smiled at what he saw.

'_This is like what we used to draw and give to Mom,_' he thought with a smile as he looked at us. '_I hope I'll be able to develop a close bond with my pokémon too.'_ He then decided to break up our moment as he saw the waitress coming by. "Aww! That's so sweet! You should keep this, Laila."

"I plan to," I told him as I decided to put it away before the waitress got to our table with our food. I just managed to be able to clean out the front pocket of my bag and put away Snatch's drawing, his crayons, and a clean copy of the place mat into my bag.

"Here you go," she commented as she began placing the food down on the table. "I hope you all enjoy your meals and let me know if there is anything else I can do for you."

Nick and I thanked her and asked for a refill on our pops as we began to eat with Snatch. She quickly dropped by the table with our refills and after making sure we were good with our meals, she left to attend to other tables.

* * *

Raveena and Felix had been waiting for an hour before he finally got called in to see the doctor. After removing the bandage and properly cleaning and redressing the wound, he decided to send Felix for an x-ray of his ankle to see if anything had actually been broken. After seeing the results, the doctor confirmed that there were no broken or fractured bones and Felix had just scraped it badly and it was now inflamed. The doctor wrote down a prescription and grabbed a pair of crutches for Felix to use.

"Now, my advice for you is to rest and stay off of your feet for as long as possible until your ankle fully heals. I would recommend booking a room at the pokémon center for at least a week. Also, take this prescription to the pharmacy at the other end of this hospital and give it to the pharmacist there. It's a prescription for some pain killers that you will probably want if the pain worsens at all. Lastly, make sure to keep it clean and pat it dry after your baths," the doctor instructed.

"Doc, I don't take baths. I take showers," Felix commented.

"If you want your ankle to get better sooner rather than later, you take a bath from now on. Is that understood?" He questioned Felix.

Felix just let his jaw hang open while Raveena laughed at how the doctor had such an easy comeback for Felix's retort. She loved it when someone could retort Felix's comments or sarcastic remarks. She felt a bit of justice when it happened as she felt it helped keep him and his ego in line.

Hearing no response from Felix and no questions or complaints from Raveena, the doctor left the room to check on other patients. After going to the pharmacy and getting his prescription, Felix and Raveena went to the Pokémon Center to book a room for the week. While Raveena was booking the room and getting the card keys from Nurse Joy, Felix was examining the bulletin board for anything new or interesting. A red and white striped poster with a pokéball on a black string hanging in the center soon caught his attention. Looking closer at it, he read:

4th Annual New Bark Town Fishing Rally

August 18 at noon at the New Bark Town Pier

Great prizes, fun times, and you get to keep one of your catches!

Entry fees for fishing divisions:

$25 – old rod

$50 – good rod

$75 – super rod

Come out for some fishing fun and a day in the sun!

Felix smiled after reading the poster and went to the counter to ask for a spare piece of paper and a pen. After receiving what he requested, he jotted it down on the spare piece paper making sure to get the time, date, and location. He gave back the pen to the nurse and saw Raveena staring at him.

"What did you find on the bulletin board that's so interesting?" She inquired of her younger brother after they settled down in their room at the pokémon center.

"There's going to be a fishing rally here in a few days. I figure if we're going to be stuck here for a week anyways, we might as well try something new."

"If it's a fishing rally, I'm getting out of here for a few days. I don't want to be surrounded by a group of men who reek of magikarp and kelp."

"What? That's a pretty mean and generalized comment. Also, I thought that we had to stay as a group of four since Nick and I are still under the age of fourteen."

"Well, it's true! A lot of the fishermen I've encountered are middle aged guys who just sit around trying to catch a magikarp. They rarely stay clean! I've even heard one of them complain about using a bottle to relieve himself because he didn't want to walk away from his fishing spot to use the washroom! It's nasty!" Raveena ranted as she waved her arms in front of her as she waved the air around her as if she were telling someone to back away.

"Okay, I'll admit that that is pretty nasty. What about the law about traveling under the age of fourteen unless it's a group of four?"

"On the road, that's true. However, if we're in a city or town, I can leave you guys for a while. However if you want to leave town, you'll need a fourth person again," Raveena clarified.

"Okay I guess, but I would still rather that you stayed here with us."

"Felix, don't worry so much okay?" Raveena asked him as she ruffled his hair after removing his hat. "I'll only be gone for three days. I'll be back the day after the fishing rally is held.

"So you'll be staying with us for two days, leaving for three, and then coming back?"

"That's right! The three of you can have fun fishing and maybe catch a pokémon meanwhile I'm going to take a little trip to go look at some stars," Raveena replied as she got a dreamy look in her eyes.

"You're talking about the celebrity kind of stars, aren't you?" Nick asked and groaned when she hummed in reply. "Fine, have fun stalking those poor guys."

"It's not stalking! It's just… admiring from a distance," Raveena defended with a blush on her cheeks.

"Whatever you say, but I still qualify it as stalking," Felix retorted as he rolled over in his bed and went to sleep.

* * *

Nick and I raced down the winding streets of New Bark Town towards the plains section on the east side of town. As we ran, we narrowly avoided people walking by and a few bikers. We even accidentally budged a food cart off the blocks holding it in place. We knew there must have been some damage to some of the produce when we heard the vendor loudly cry out, "my cabbages!" as we continued to run. We would have stopped, but at the moment we were head-to-head and solely focused on beating each other to the Berry Patch. Right now, nothing and no one could stop us from trying to get to our destination first. On the line in this race were bragging rights for at least a month.

Seeing us near our destination, Snatch hopped off my shoulder and ran ahead to scratch a finish line into the dirt in our path. He then hopped to the side and used double team to make three copies of himself. They waited and watched the ground near the line so that he could determine who won. One clone stood on each side of the line and the other stood beyond it by ten feet.

As we neared the finish line, Nick and I exchanged a glance before grinning at each other. We then picked up the pace as we were in the final stretch and both focused on beating each other. A few steps before the finish line we were still neck and neck running at full force. When we were right in front of the line, we threw ourselves forward across the finish line in a last ditch effort to claim victory. Snatch and his two clones started to call out happily with big smiles on their faces. Looking at each other and nodding, they each raised their tail and pointed it between Nick and myself. Nick and I began to count backwards from three and when we reached zero Snatch and his clones shifted their tails to point at who they saw as the winner of the race. The two on the edges pointed at me and the center one pointed at Nick.

"Ha ha ha! Awe yeah! Looks like you're going have to run faster next time if you want to beat me, Nick," I exclaimed as I jumped for joy at being declared the winner of the race.

"You just got lucky. I'll beat you next time we race though," he retorted with a smirk as he readjusted his hat and began to head for the gates of the Berry Patch.

Upon opening the gate, we saw a small house with a lady sitting at a table with a cash box, a few sheets of paper, a couple pencils, and some baskets nearby. We walked over to her to clarify that we were in the right place and to get a basket.

"Hello, young ones. Welcome to the New Bark Town Berry Patch! Would you like to buy a basket of picked berries or go pick your own?" The lady inquired as she adjusted the papers to reveal a counting sheet with tick marks in different columns.

"We'd like to go pick our own," Nick quickly replied as he stepped forward to look at the kinds of berries in the basket.

"Very well, that will be $20 for a small basket which can hold up to twelve berries or $30 for a large basket that can hold twenty berries. You can put whichever mix of berries into the basket. However, you will have to pay an extra two dollars for any berries over the combined limit or that you eat in the field. Is that understood?" She stated to us and added an extra warning for us.

"We understand, and we'll each have a large basket," I answered as I gave her my half of the money with a slight frown at the cost. I had wanted to come here and pick some berries but I never expected it to cost so much money. However, this was one of the few berry fields in the Johto region so I decided it would not be too bad of a loss.

Nick then handed his half of the money to her, grabbed one of the large baskets, and walked towards the sitrus berries. Looking back at the table, I noticed a locked box with some disposable cameras inside. Smiling, I remembered that I had wanted to buy a camera to take pictures of the events that might happen along our journey. I then bought five disposable cameras and put four of them away. The fifth one I took out of the box and winded the film to be able to quickly take a picture. I then headed off to where Nick had gone off to with the camera ready to snap a picture. When Snatch saw Nick, he jumped off my shoulder and ran to him. He then quickly climbed the tree that Nick was picking a berry from and passed him another. Just as Nick's hand wrapped around the berry Snatch was giving him, I took the picture and smiled at what I hoped would be a good picture. Nick put the berry in the basket and then climbed onto the branch beside Snatch. They both grabbed a berry and pretended to bite it as I took another picture. They then dropped the berries into the basket and waved me to come over.

"So what kind of berries are you going to grab Laila?" Nick asked me as he looked down at me from the branch.

"I'm going to look for some chople berries, yache berries, rowap berries, and wacan berries. I figure that those ones are usually hard to find and may come in handy on our journey, especially if we catch some of the pokémon around here. What kinds are you looking for?"

"I'm trying to find berries that will help out in battle such as the cheri berry, pecha berry, and sitrus berry. So we're all going to split these when we're done picking them, right?"

"Yeah, this way we will each get eight berries. I think we should pick four of each kind we want so that all of us get one of each berry picked."

"Alright, that sounds good to me. I'm going to go and find the berries I want so I'll meet you and Snatch at the entrance when I'm done," Nick said as he hopped out of the tree and started walking to a different area.

As I was about to follow his lead and go to where I thought the chople berries were, Snatch reached down and grabbed the camera from my hands. He then climbed higher into the tree and stood on the highest branch, peaking out by stretching on his tail. He then held the camera steady and snapped the flash button taking a picture of the Berry Patch from the tree tops for me. He then held the camera steady with his tail as he set the camera for the next picture with his hands. Climbing back down, Snatch carefully hopped out of the tree and back onto my shoulder before stretching his tail out in front of us and turning the camera towards us. We both smiled as he used his top tail finger to press the snap button again. He then brought his tail back and gave the camera back to me before jumping back into the trees and swinging off to the area with the chople berries.

After two hours of berry picking and almost falling out of a tree a couple times, we met up with Nick at the entrance and handed our basket to the lady. She counted them and nodded. "Before you kids leave, do you each have a berry pouch? If not, I can sell you one for five dollars," she told us as she held up a small burlap sack with a pokéball with a stem in the center of it.

"No I don't have one of those. Do you have one, Nick?" I asked him. Upon seeing him shake his head no, I sighed and pulled out my wallet. "Fine, we'll take four berry pouches."

"Very well, it was nice doing business with you kids," she told us with an overly friendly smile. "I hope you both enjoy the berries."

Nick and I nodded our thanks before quickly leaving and talking about which berries we chose as we headed back to the main part of town. On our way to the Pokémon Center, we passed the town square and decided to sit down and organize the berries at one of the picnic tables. When we were done, each berry pouch had eight berries in it. Smiling, I put three of the filled berry pouches back into my bag while Nick put his in a pocket of his bag.

We then headed back to the Pokémon Center ready to reunite with our siblings, get dinner, and go to sleep. Today had been an eventful day and tomorrow would be a day that we all would treasure for the rest of our lives. Tomorrow, Felix and Nick would finally get their starter pokémon and be able to truly qualify as pokémon trainers.


	4. Chapter 4: Nice to Meet You, Partner!

BlizzardNinja's Corner:

Well, how are all of you doing? I don't know about you, but I've been pretty busy since I last updated. Exams, Valentine's Day, my birthday, and now my winter break are almost done! It's been fun except for a few low patches. I hope you all had a fun February as well.

If you've watched the Sochi Olympics at all, what do you think? I'm excited that Canada is doing really good and that my local team won the gold medal for their respective sport. Congrats to all Olympians and their families!

Anyways, it's time! Nick and Felix get to finally meet their starters! What kind of antics will they have while trying to get accustomed to each other? Read to find out!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the series, games, or any of the merchandise associated with it. They are fully owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and the Pokémon Company. However, the original characters that I create are made and thought of by myself.

Now with the author's note and disclaimer out of the way, chapter four is here! Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4: Nice to Meet You, Partner!

Today was the day that Nick and Felix would become official pokémon trainers and will get to choose their first pokémon. We all stood in front of Professor Elm's lab and let the moment sink in before Nick gulped and slowly raised his hand to press the doorbell. After he pressed the button, we could hear the bell echoing inside the lab and a loud bang followed by footsteps quickly but unevenly coming towards the door we were waiting at. The twins looked at each other nervously as I slowly backed up with a smirk. Raveena soon followed my lead and tried to hide her nervousness of being at Professor Elm's door.

As Elm opened the door, I quickly snapped the flash button of my camera to catch him off guard and capture the twin's initial reaction to meeting one of the quirkiest and hectic Pokémon professors. Speaking of Elm, he was standing in the door with wide eyes, a lowered jaw, frazzled hair, and a ruffled white lab coat over his pale green scrubs he like to wear around his lab. There was a small pichu on his head with a little smirk as it let sparks fly off its cheeks as Elm flinched. There was also a pichu in one of his lab coat pockets with its head poking out and a small smile on his face.

Raveena slowly started to back away from the professor while trying to hide the fact that she wanted to run away from the hectic professor and his messy lab. Professor Elm was famous for studying pokémon breeding and strange pokémon abilities, as well as for being a nervous wreck. With the later association came the well-known fact that most of the pokémon at his lab would try to pull some sort of stunt since Elm was not good at commanding and training them. Of course, this misbehaviour helped lead him to some of his most noteworthy discoveries such as discovering that pichu is the pre-evolved form of pikachu, that pokémon hatch from eggs, and being credited as one of, if not the most, talented student that Professor Oak ever had. The two would often meet up or talk over the phone and discuss their latest theories and discoveries about pokémon.

"H-hello boys and girls," the professor started after everyone's initial shock wore off. He then directed his gaze towards the twins. "I assume you must be Felix and Nick?" He questioned as he attempted to fix up his appearance.

Nick stepped forward and began his introduction, "That's right! I'm Nick, this is my brother Felix, and these are our sisters Raveena and Laila!" He pointed at each of us as he told the professor our names and relation to each other.

"I see," Elm commented as he led us to the main room of his lab. "Laila, was it? Please don't take my picture without asking."

"Sorry, I just wanted to capture the twin's initial reaction to meeting you for the first time. After all, this is a day that they should remember," I replied.

"Yes, I suppose it is and that being the case, I'll allow you to take a few pictures in the lab to capture the day for them. Make sure to show your mom the pictures after though. Clair must be pretty lonely if all of her kids left home at once. Have you at least called her since you left?"

We all gulped before guiltily lowering and shaking our heads no. '_I guess he brought up a good point and that we should try to give our parents a call once in a while. They probably are lonely and would be happy to hear from us. However, it might be a lot harder to reach dad._'

"Oh, I see," Elm replied and then tried to comfort us, "but that is the life of a traveling pokémon trainer I suppose. I'm sure she would understand, but it would still be nice if you would give her a call when you can."

"Yeah, we should do that," Raveena agreed before nudging Felix, "so what are you waiting for Felix? Get on it already!"

Felix gave Raveena a dirty look and a scowl as he readjusted himself on his crutches. Realizing that she had almost pushed him off balance, Raveena apologized to him and tried to help him readjust before having her assistance declined by Felix.

Professor Elm soon stopped in front of a white door and turned back towards us, or more specifically the twins. "Well boys, are you ready to meet your first pokémon?"

Nick and Felix let out calls of excitement as they both stared at the door intently. They had both been wondering for a while which starter they would choose and what they would be like. Elm smiled and reached for the doorknob. Just as he was about to turn it and open the door, the door was yanked inwards pulling Elm along with it. Elm clung to the door knob with all his strength before having to let go and falling a little before landing on the ground. A young girl with short brown hair, a pink t-shirt, and short black dress stood in the doorway with an annoyed look on her face.

"Are these the guys we've been waiting for?" She questioned Elm as she looked uncaringly at him while he was slowly getting up from the floor in front of her.

"Y-yes, Karla, that's them," Elm confirmed with a shaky nod. Both of the pichu that were riding on him glared at her with sparks flying from their cheeks. Glancing at each other, the pichu quickly hopped onto Karla at the same time and shocked her. Smirking, one of the pichu quickly grabbed the red bow tie on the front of her dress while the other grabbed the red bow tie from her hair, untying them. They then ran off to different parts of the lab leaving a steaming mad Karla behind. Seeing her frazzled got me, Nick, and Felix to laugh which further aggravated Karla.

"I'll be back in a few minutes and then you can pass out the pokémon, okay?" Karla informed Elm and somewhat us before she headed to where I presumed the washroom was.

Elm brought us over to a small sitting area in the corner of the room where he had the starter pokémon set up. After we were all sitting down, we all looked at Elm intently before Raveena finally started to ask him what we were all wondering.

"Okay, seriously, why do you let her talk to you and act like that towards you? I mean, you're doing her a huge favor by giving her a starter pokémon and she's walking all over you! What are you thinking? How can you let her do that to you?" Raveena started to drill Elm with questions.

Elm started to rustle nervously in his seat before answering us. "Well, you see, it's not really that easy. Karla is my niece and she's always been direct in how she talks and acts. She's especially like that when it concerns something of importance to her, like getting her starter pokémon. She flew here from Goldenrod City last night to come and pick up her future pokémon. She woke up at six and has been staring at the pokéballs most of the time. I told her that since your mom contacted me first, the two of you would get to choose your pokémon before her."

"Still, that's not a good enough reason for her to be so cruel and mean to you," Raveena commented.

"I suppose so. I still think she's just excited and nervous about the whole thing though. Especially since she may not get the pokémon she wants," Elm confessed.

"What?" Nick gasped as he sat forward in his seat. "Why would that be?"

"Well, normally, I give all of the starters to new trainers before the Silver Conference begins. I then go and watch the Silver Conference live at the stadium. This means that I get a shipment of starters after the league is finished. Since the league just finished, I should have gotten another shipment of starters by now. Unfortunately, the breeders I normally get the starters from have been experiencing difficulties that have resulted in the shipment of starters being late. Most other breeders in the region are able to breed the typical Johto starting pokémon, but few have the required pokémon and facilities to do so. Even if they do, they have to pass an inspection from the Pokémon League and Board. If they are not certified for breeding their selected starter or are not expecting to have to send a batch of them to my lab, few of them are able to do so. That's why this delay is extremely problematic," Elm explained to us.

"What kind of difficulties could result in all three of the breeders for the starters being unable to send some to you? Also, how are we able to get starters from you today if you don't have any left?" Felix asked the professor as he doubted that the professor's claims were true.

"What? You don't believe me?" Elm asked in shock as he was slightly hurt at the insult.

"Not really," Felix confirmed. "We just met you and it's already obvious that you're a mess and your lab is hazardously messy. I wouldn't be surprised if you lost one of the starter pokémon in your disastrous lab." We all gave Felix a glare to tell him that that was uncalled for and that he should apologize to Professor Elm. Felix didn't seem to care about what we thought of his comment.

Elm gasped as Felix's words stung him. "It may be true that I keep my lab somewhat messy-"

"Oh, it's more than somewhat messy," Felix cut in and was then elbowed in the side by Raveena.

"Anyways," Elm continued in a somber voice with downcast eyes, "the main breeders we use for the starters have all been experiencing difficulties as of late. The totodile breeder lives on a small island in the Whirl Islands called Jaws Island. They're the only ones who live there. With that fact, it is understandably hard to travel to the Pokémon Centre on the nearby island. It's also difficult and lengthy to get a repairman in to fix their transporter. The cyndaquil breeder lives in the mountains and there have been rockslides occurring lately. They've been busy trying to clear the road and protect the eggs so they are not able to send any cyndaquil to me for a while. Unfortunately, the chikorita breeder was hit the hardest from an unforeseen circumstance. The chikorita breeder had a group of ursaring attack her ranch. Some of the ursaring got past her guard pokémon and started to attack the chikorita she's been raising. Some of the chikorita managed to fight off the ursaring by working together and evolved. The other chikorita and the eggs that were outside were not so lucky. As a result, she has very few chikorita remaining that are suitable to give to beginning trainers and has to slowly rebuild her pokémon egg outdoor nursery."

We all gasped and looked down sadly as we thought about the poor chikorita. 'They must have been so scared. I couldn't imagine having to watch that,' I thought to myself feeling a pain in my heart.

Nick smiled sadly as he looked up at the professor, "if the breeders aren't able to send you any starter pokémon, than how are you going to be able to give us a starter today?"

"I held on to one last batch of them so that the two of you would get to choose the starter you want. I then got a phone call two days ago from my brother asking me to give Karla her starter today. I would usually have some backups in case multiple trainers want the same starter but as I already said the shipment from the different starter ranches have been delayed by at least a few weeks. As a result, she may have to choose a starter pokémon other than the one she's been wanting since she was a little girl or wait here for a few weeks to get her desired starter pokémon. She knows that, and all things considered, she is definitely not taking it well," Elm reassured us with a small smile.

There was a small gasp behind where we were sitting as Karla slowly approached the professor. She had tears flowing down her cheeks and a bright red nose at the moment. She stopped in front of him and looked at him desperately. "Is what you just said about the chikorita true, uncle?" she asked with a sad quavering voice.

Elm stood up and hugged his niece. "Unfortunately so, but at least some of them made it right?" He asked her, desperately trying to think of something to cheer her up.

"I guess so," she relented before breaking down into tears again. Elm was silently panicking as he tried to think of a way to cheer her up.

We all looked at each other and silently agreed to try and think of something to help cheer up Karla and free Elm from his torture. Not long after we began to try to figure out a way to help them both, Felix stood up and hopped away from the sitting area and went to the table with the three pokéballs on it.

"Hey Elm, these are the starters you saved for us, right? Can we choose our starter pokémon now?" Felix hollered to all of us, but mainly Professor Elm.

Elm's eyes lit up as he caught on to Felix's plan and he confirmed his observation before silently mouthing "thank you" to Felix.

"Well, Karla, Nick, Felix, the three pokémon in front of you are soon going to be your partners. Before I give them to you, how about I introduce them to you and then you choose which starter you want?"

The twins and Karla all happily agreed with the plan as we all stared intently at the pokémon he was about to show us.

"Let's begin the introductions with the water starter, Totodile," Elm decided as he grabbed the water starter's pokéball and let it out. Totodile came out of the ball with a toothy smile before saying its name and spraying a light amount of water into the air. When the water landed on him, he shook it off before smiling even wider. The remaining water droplets on his scaly skin made them blue of his skin and the red spikes protruding along his spine stand out even more compared to the dry yellowish-tan strip on his belly between his arms.

Karla smiled in amusement at it but didn't seem overly joyed about it. Felix and Nick were both in awe of the little water pokémon and admired how he looked and acted. Raveena backed away from him before desperately trying to dry the water droplets that had landed on her dress. As she started to move her hand faster to try to dry it, the totodile became more immersed in the movement of her hand before it jumped towards her with his jaws open. Luckily, Snatch noticed where and what the totodile was planning and stopped it by using iron tail to send the totodile flying in another direction.

Elm apologized and decided now would be a good time to introduce the next pokémon. He decided to show us cyndaquil, the fire starter next. Cyndaquil came out and turned his head towards each of us in turn before yawning and lying down to go to sleep. This cyndaquil slept in an odd position by curling up in a ball and tucking its head towards its belly. It then began to shift until it found a comfortable position with its little arms steadying his long snout and having his feet spread flat out behind him.

The twins and Karla were dumbfounded by how relaxed and lazy this cyndaquil was. Raveena began to coo over how cute it was when sleeping. I had to look away because watching cyndaquil sleep, especially with the dark navy blue fur on his back absorbing the sunlight, was making me tired and made me want to return to bed. Elm just smiled and shook his head at the cyndaquil's lack of energy.

"The last pokémon I have for you to choose as a starter is chikorita, the Johto region's grass type starter," Elm concluded as he released the little quadruped grass pokémon. The little green pokémon began to hop around sporadically on its little legs while waving the leaf on its head around. The grass pokémon then looked up and shouted out happily as it hopped off the table.

Karla became awe struck and let out a happy cry as she looked at the chikorita. Elm smiled and shook his head at the energy and excitement that chikorita had. Raveena smiled at it but was not as thrilled when compared to her reaction for cyndaquil. Nick, Felix, and I were slightly overwhelmed by the amount of energy it displayed. Obviously, chikorita would be the most energetic of the three starters.

After a bit of chasing, Elm got the pokémon back on the table and settled as they looked at us. In a sense, we were inspecting them but they were inspecting us as well. Chikorita was settled down on the left side of the table, cyndaquil was sitting in the middle with his head looking up at Professor Elm, and totodile was on the right side of the table slowly trying to make a picture out of the water it had squirted out earlier.

After a few moments of looking at them, I asked Elm if I could take a few pictures of the pokémon before they were given to my brothers and Karla. After being given an affirmation, I decided to take a picture of all three of them doing their own thing as a group. I then took a picture of each of them doing whatever they pleased. Chikorita raised its leaf and smirked at me, cyndaquil continued to just stare at me before eliciting a yawn, and totodile was immersed in his drawing until I called his name and was given a toothy grin. I then asked them to give me one more picture of them sitting nicely together, which they accommodated with little fuss.

"Have you taken all the photos you want to of the group of starters?" He asked me.

"For now I have, yes. I want to take some group pictures at the lab's entrance after they choose their pokémon though," I informed the professor.

"That sounds okay with me, but you'll have to let everyone choose if they want to be in the pictures. Now, before I give these three young trainers their starters I wanted to know if either of you have some advice to give them for their journey," Elm asked curiously.

"I think they should pick the one they want and try to bond with them as fast as they can," Raveena replied.

I paused to think for a few moments about what I should say to them. Finally, I thought of what to say, "I think it would be easy to just say which pokémon you want, but the pokémon have to be accepting of you or there will be some resistance from them. It's about a balance of respect and trust. Don't be upset if that balance isn't there right away, it is something that has to be worked on and built over time."

They all silently stared at me in shock. Apparently, I had given some advice that was more meaningful than they had expected for me to give them. I could tell that even Snatch was surprised by the way he widened his eyes. However, I guess he liked the answer since he soon let out a happy cry and hugged my head with his little arms. Looking at the starters, totodile let out a content noise as he smiled at me. Chikorita waved off my comment by flicking her leaf. Surprisingly, cyndaquil was awake and nodded before letting out another yawn. Apparently, I'd just gained some respect from the three of them as well.

Elm looked at the pokémon and then at us. "So, Nick and Felix, since Clair asked me to hold them for you, I think you two should get the first pick for your starter pokémon. Who wants to be the first to choose their pokémon?"

Felix glanced at Nick but surprisingly, Nick had already stepped forward. "Professor, I want totodile to be my partner!" He exclaimed with a bright smile as he looked at the little water pokémon. It smiled and let out another small stream of water.

Felix looked at Nick in shock. Ordinarily, the twins would look at and talk to each other before deciding something important. Felix seemed somewhat hurt that Nick didn't stop to talk and consider his opinion on the matter.

Professor Elm looked between the two with a nervous smile. "Well, if totodile is who you choose, okay. Remember, totodile is the water starter and he enjoys being in the water. If you're near a body of water be sure to let him out for a swim and keep him well hydrated," Professor Elm lectured Nick as he handed totodile's pokéball and a pokédex to him. Nick's pokédex was a red rectangle with a black circle near the bottom. When flipped open, there were two screens. The top screen was an LED display screen while the bottom screen was a touch screen. He then turned to Felix and waited to find out which starter he would choose.

Felix looked unsure as he glanced continuously between the yawning cyndaquil and the bouncing chikorita. He didn't look very excited to choose either of them and it was soon made obvious that his first choice had been totodile. Karla stared intently at him and was straining to stay in her spot instead of running to grab the starter she wanted to choose. Finally, Felix sighed and turned to her, "Karla, it's obvious that you know which pokémon you want, so you can choose yours first."

She stared at him as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" She questioned him hopefully.

Letting out another sigh, he confirmed her hopes, "Yeah, you can choose before me."

Karla let out a happy squeal and gave Felix a tight hug that made him blush. When she realized what she was doing, she let go of him and blushed as well. "Sorry about that, Felix. I just got overly excited. I'd like the chikorita please," she said as she had a huge smile on her face and was struggling to stay somewhat calm.

Elm chuckled and nodded before giving chikorita's pokéball and a pink pokédex that was similar to Nick's to her. She began to hug the pokéball and twist in her spot with her eyes closed. Noticing her actions, she again stopped and blushed before looking at her partner pokémon. She looked somewhat hurt when chikorita was giving her a weird look and had taken a step back from her previous position.

Elm walked over to his desk and grabbed something before returning to his previous spot. "Felix, I want to give you something extra for your generous actions towards my niece. Also, before you ask, Clair told me that your favorite color was dark blue so I found a pokédex that color for you," Elm told him as he put an envelope, a dark blue pokédex like the others, and a pokéball in Felix's hands.

"Thanks, professor, but what's in the envelope?" Felix asked.

"Open it and you'll find out," Professor Elm said with a smile as one of his assistants nodded approvingly at him. Karla started laughing as we looked at them confused about what was so funny.

"The last time I was here, I mentioned to my uncle and some of the lab assistants that we should try to work on making him control his long explanations and take more breaks to focus on things other than his research once in a while. Apparently, they've been working and helping improve how he explains and talks to new trainers," Karla explained with a smile.

"Well, that's interesting," Nick said with a shrug before he turned to Felix with a giant smile, "now open the envelope already, Felix!"

Felix carefully separated the envelope and soon pulled out what was inside. There was a package with the emblem of a ship on the front of it. When Felix opened it, there were four vouchers for a free ferry ride to and from Alto Mare. According to the ticket, we could board the ship at either Cherrygrove City's dock or Union City's dock. Cherrygrove City was nearby and just down route 29. Union City on the other hand, was a good distance away and was between Violet City and Azalea Town. Actually, Union City led to the route 32 entrance of Union Cave which we would have to travel through to get to Azalea Town.

"W-why are you giving these to me? They must have been expensive," Felix asked the professor as he looked at him surprised.

"I was given them as a gift by the director of the Silver Conference actually," Professor Elm clarified. "I was going to use them as a vacation with a few of my researchers but I soon remembered that I get seasick easily."

Professor Elm's researchers all looked at us with joy when they heard about being given a free vacation from him but were soon disappointed as they heard the rest of his sentence.

"Don't worry everyone. I have a different vacation in mind for us," Professor Elm told them before smirking, "but of course, you're going to have to work hard to show me that you want the vacation."

The assistants gulped and soon returned to focussing on their work. They were working more diligently than they had previously been. This somewhat annoyed Elm but amused the rest of us.

"Well, if you're sure than thank you Professor Elm. One question, when and where do we have to board the ship?" Felix inquired.

"The ship docks and leaves Cherrygrove City and Union City every Saturday of the month. It remains docked in Alto Mare's pier during the week and your stateroom will be accessible to you during your whole stay in Alto Mare which means that you don't have to book a hotel room or try to get a room at the pokémon center. Just be sure not to accidently board the wrong ship. Also, it is good for this year and can be exchanged at the pier's terminal. However, keep in mind that the ferry only runs until November so the last chance you'll be able to use the ferry tickets is when the ferry leaves from Union City on the second last Saturday of October," Elm explained.

"Cool, thank you Professor Elm," Nick, Felix, Raveena, and I said together.

"You're very welcome. Now I think you should head back to the pokémon center. After all, it's already six and I don't think any of you have eaten yet."

With that said we all went outside and said our goodbyes to Professor Elm, Karla, and Elm's assistants. Before we left, I managed to get a couple group pictures taken and quickly reviewed them as we headed towards the Pokémon Centre for dinner and a good night's sleep. As we walked, cyndaquil was resting in Felix's bag and totodile was admiring the scenery of New Bark Town while Nick was carrying him in his arms.

"I hope we'll have some fun adventures together, totodile," Nick told his pokémon happily. Totodile let out a happy sound in response before returning to looking around.

"I want to say that we'll have fun adventures together too, cyndaquil, but you seriously need to stop sleeping," Felix commented as he looked at the crashed out fire pokémon that was turning in its sleep.

* * *

After having a good first dinner with cyndaquil and totodile, we had all returned to our room in New Bark Town's Pokémon Centre. As I looked at Nick and Felix with their starters, I realized something.

"Hey, are you two going to give your pokémon a nickname or just keep calling them cyndaquil and totodile?" I asked them as my curiosity peaked.

"Well, I never really thought of it, actually," Felix commented as he stared at his cyndaquil.

Nick looked at totodile as well. "Do you two even want to have a nickname?"

Totodile showed a toothy grin and cried out happily at the idea. Cyndaquil was still awake from dinner and nodded as it mumbled happily to itself about the idea of a nickname.

Felix looked at his pokémon and asked for its opinion on his name idea, "Hey, cyndaquil do you like the nickname Cinder for you?" Cyndaquil was quiet for a few moments before it let out a happy cry and nodded at the name choice. "Alright from now on we'll call you Cinder," Felix told it and hugged his pokémon. It tried to wriggle free at first but after a few moments, it settled into Felix's arms.

Nick was flipping through a contest book for some ideas when he saw a picture of a croconaw. "Totodile evolves into croconaw and then feraligatr right?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's how the evolution chain for totodile is. It's weird but of the starters in the Johto region, it tends to take totodile the longest to evolve into croconaw but the shortest time to evolve into its final form," I confirmed his observation and gave him some more information on his starter's species.

Nick looked at his totodile before he smiled. "What do you think of the nickname Bam Bam or Bam for short?" Totodile smiled at the name before grabbing a pillow from the bed it was on and starting to smack the pillow against the mattress. Nick laughed and told his pokémon, "I'll call you Bam Bam or Bam, depending on which I'm in the mood to say."

Bam let out a happy call as he began to smack the pillow around with an increased effort. He accidentally got too into it and ended up smacking Cinder with the pillow. Cinder glared at Bam and opened his mouth as he prepared to launch an attack.

"Cinder, don't!" Felix cried out but he was too late as Cinder released a large plume of smoke from his mouth directed at Bam. The smoke quickly started to fill the room and ended up setting off the smoke alarm.

Quickly, Raveena ran to the window and opened it to let some smoke out. I crawled to the door and motioned for them to follow me. When they were near and low on the ground, I opened the door and we all hurried into the hall. As soon as we were out, I shut the door again and we walked down the hall.

We waited in the lobby as the other trainers staying in the Pokémon Centre exited their rooms and gathered in the lobby as well. After a few minutes, the firefighters of New Bark Town arrived and directed us all to leave the lobby and to wait outside while they inspected the whole centre. When they were finished, one of them who I assumed was the captain approached Nurse Joy and the Officer Jenny standing with her and informed them of where the smoke was and what they assumed had happened.

We gulped as we saw Nurse Joy pull out a list and point to a certain line on the paper. Seeing the other two who were looking at the list nod we became nervous about what was going to happen. Nurse Joy scanned the crowd carefully and her eyes narrowed when she saw us. She then turned and said something to Officer Jenny and the presumed fire captain. Next thing we knew, they were slowly approaching us as the crowd separated from us and watched us intently.

I felt like I was being put on trial as the huge crowd focussed their gaze on us and the three notable authority leaders of New Bark Town neared us. When they stood before us, Officer Jenny scanned all of us with her eyes.

"Is there anything we can help you three with?" Raveena asked in her best innocent imitation she could pull at the moment.

"Are you four Raveena, Laila, Nick, and Felix Blackthorn who were staying in room 3D of the Pokémon Centre this evening?" Officer Jenny asked us in an authoritative voice as she eyed us carefully.

"Yes, that would be us," Raveena replied as calmly as possible while looking at Officer Jenny in the eyes.

"Would any of you care to explain what happened in your hotel room tonight that set off the smoke alarm?"

Felix stepped forward and quietly confessed, "sorry, officer. That would be my fault. You see, my brother and I just got our starting pokémon earlier today. We were getting ready for bed when we decided to give them both nicknames. I guess his totodile got overly excited about his new name and as a result, ended up hitting my cyndaquil with a pillow. In response to being hit with a pillow, my cyndaquil used its smokescreen attack and consequentially set off the smoke alarm."

Officer Jenny looked at all of us skeptically, "If what you're telling me is true, than it should be your brother's fault and not yours."

Felix nodded but clarified why he had previously spoken, "that may be true but it was my cyndaquil that used smokescreen inside of our room and sequentially set off the smoke alarm because of it. His totodile may have been the initial cause, but technically speaking, it was how my cyndaquil reacted that set off the smoke alarm and thus my fault for not being able to stop him."

The three adults looked at each other as the crowd was silently watching. They no longer seemed to be judging us but merely interested about what each would have to say next.

Finally, Officer Jenny spoke again, "if that's the case, then alright. The both of you must start training your pokémon and get them to behave and listen better. Until they are well behaved and well trained, I want the both of you to keep your pokémon in their pokéballs when sleeping in any Pokémon Centre. Is that understood?"

"We understand, and I'm sorry for my totodile's behavior as well," Nick said as he too stepped forward and stood beside Felix.

"Okay, very well, have a good night. You can all go back into the Pokémon Centre now," Officer Jenny informed us as she returned to her cruiser and drove away.

Raveena walked over to the fire captain as he was walking away. "Well, since you know what room we're staying in, maybe you could stop by for a visit," she suggested to him as she winked flirtatiously at him and began to walk back towards us. Judging by his reaction and the shaking of his head as he walked back to the fire truck, he wasn't going to take her up on her offer much to our relief.

* * *

After returning to our room, we were about to go to sleep when I thought of something and turned over to face my brothers who were about to fall asleep on the other bunk bed.

"Hey guys, tomorrow Snatch and I will show you the basics you need to know to survive being a pokémon trainer. So have a good sleep tonight," I told them as I turned back to my original position.

"After Laila shows you some of the basic needs and places a trainer needs to know about I'll help you both begin training your pokémon. Maybe I'll even referee a battle between you," Raveena added and then went back to sleep.

'_By the sounds of it, tomorrow is going to be a busy day of showing the twins about the basics of being a pokémon trainer. This should be interesting_,' I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep for the night.

A few hours after we had all fallen asleep, Felix remained awake as he lay restlessly in his bed staring at the pokéball of his very first pokémon, Cinder. Sighing, he decided to quietly get up and leave the room without telling any of us. An hour later, he returned with a small smile on his face holding his pokéball carefully and with pride. He quietly went back under the covers on the bed and fell asleep like the rest of us already had.


	5. Chapter 5: Pokemon Trainer Basics 101

BlizzardNinja's Corner:

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the series, games, or any of the merchandise associated with it. They are fully owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and the Pokémon Company. However, the original characters that I create are made and thought of by myself.

Now with the disclaimer out of the way, it's time for Nick and Felix to learn the basics that any pokémon trainer needs to know.

Chapter 5: The Basics of Being a Pokémon Trainer 101

It was around ten in the morning and I was already dragging the twins out of the Pokémon Centre and into the streets of New Bark Town. Raveena was refusing to budge from her sleep and was sleeping as soundly as a snorlax when we were ready to go so I decided that it would just be me and the twins for the morning demonstrations. Before the twins and I left to walk around New Bark Town to show them some of the standard pokémon focused facilities they should know about, I decided to take a picture of Raveena crashed out. Looking at her through the camera focus, I stifled my giggles as I saw her spread out across her bed with her hair disheveled and drool coming out of her mouth. It was a large contrast to the usual polished appearance she had when she was out in public and even when walking around the house.

After putting away my camera, I quietly left the room closing and locking the door behind me. As I headed outside to meet the twins and their starters, I couldn't help but to think to myself. '_This could be fun. It's been a while since the last time I was alone with both of my brothers._' I smiled as I walked out of the entrance to meet my brothers who were waiting outside for me in the morning glow that was currently present in New Bark Town as the sun slowly started its ascent into the sky. Approaching my brothers, I laughed lightly at how different they were to each other in the early morning before they were fully awake.

Nick was fairly awake and close to his normal self. Bam was standing on Nick's backpack and holding onto his shoulder as he looked around the town being lit by the morning sun. Felix on the other hand was barely staying awake and yawning every few minutes. Cinder was holding onto Felix's shoulder in a similar fashion as Bam. However, like his trainer, Cinder was yawning every few minutes and struggling to stay awake instead of falling into a sleep from the rhythmic swaying of Felix's tired gait. Perhaps Felix and Cinder would be a good match after all.

Snatch was playing on the street lamps over head as we walked down one of the main streets. Seeing a café down the street, I decided it might be a good idea to get some breakfast before I show them anything important that a pokémon trainer should know. Knowing that in his current state, Felix probably wouldn't be able to remember many, if any at all, of the things I was about to tell and show them. Considering that what I planned on showing them today were basic but important things for any pokémon trainer to know, I did not want either of them to be sleepy while I'm showing them.

Entering the café, we headed for a table in the corner with four chairs. As soon as he reached the table, Felix sat down in the closest chair with his back facing the wall. He then shifted around and leaned his crutches against the wall behind him but still within his reach. Cinder and Felix then yawned together before Cinder began to sleep, falling off Felix's shoulder and tumbling onto his lap in the process. It awoke with a start and looked around frantically as it tried to figure out what had happened. Not figuring anything out, Cinder became nervous and was about to use smoke screen when its mouth was covered by Felix's gloved hand.

"Cinder, calm down," Felix ordered as he started to pat his starter's head. "You just fell asleep and tumbled off my shoulder and onto my lap." Upon being told what happened, Cinder did calm down and curled up on Felix's lap. We all smiled at their little interaction as it became obvious that the two were beginning to feel closer and more comfortable with one another. Especially considering what had happened the night before and the talk that the two young trainers had with their partner after the ordeal was over.

After the ordeal that Bam Bam and Cinder caused the night before, the two pokémon realized that their actions have consequences for both their trainers and themselves. On top of that, they both had gained some respect for new trainers after watching them both take the blame and apologize for something that the two starters had actually done. As a result, they had both decided to behave better and listen to their trainers more from now on.

Nick set Bam Bam down on one of the remaining empty chairs at our table and Snatch hopped off my shoulder and onto another chair. I giggled as I noticed that Snatch was taunting Bam to try and bite his tail. Snatch wiggled his tail palm in front of Bam Bam's face and pulled it away just in time to avoid having Bam's jaws trap his tail. Snatch would laugh every time he successfully did this, much to Bam's frustration. After seeing Bam focus and almost catch Snatch's tail I decided to end their game before it went too far and one of them wound up getting hurt.

"Snatch, I know you're just trying to have some fun with Bam Bam but you know that you have to be on your best behaviour when at a restaurant. If you keep your game going in here, someone might get hurt or we may be asked to leave. So wait until this afternoon when we can do some training, alright?" I gently scolded him and gave him something to look forward to later.

As I was scolding him, Snatch lowered his head and wrapped his tail around him. "Ai-pom," he muttered quietly. I smiled and ruffled his hair knowing that was his way of apologizing for misbehaving. As I continued and mentioned doing some training later today, his head shot up with the big smile that was all too familiar on his face. I smiled as I looked at Nick.

"I think we should get something to eat now," he commented before turning to Felix. "I'm getting a cheeseburger. What do you want to eat, Felix?"

"I'll have the same thing as you but with no mustard and no onions," Felix answered with a gracious smile.

Nick nodded and left to get the food for him and his brother. I was about to follow him when I turned and asked the starters what they wanted to eat. Both Bam and Cinder tilted their heads in confusion so Snatch took over and began to explain what kind of food pokémon could get in human restaurants. After a few minutes of explaining, Snatch turned back to me and pointed at Cinder with his tail before showing two fingers on his tail palm. He then pointed at Bam Bam and showed three fingers before quickly pulling one back. He then pointed his tail back towards himself and held up two fingers again.

"So let me get this straight Snatch, you and Cinder want spicy pokémon food and Bam wants sour pokémon food?" I asked my pokémon for clarification before I went to order and pay for our meals. Snatch let out a happy cry as he nodded his head and looked around the restaurant.

I headed over to join Nick at the counter and informed him, "Snatch and Cinder want spicy pokémon food and Bam Bam wants sour pokémon food. Can you get me a chicken fajita with no onions?"

"Uh, sure, but where are you going?" He asked me with an eyebrow raised.

I handed him a twenty dollar bill to help pay for the food. "I have to use the washroom, unless you want to go for me," I teased him and laughed as he turned slightly green at the idea. "Relax, Nick. I'll be back in a few minutes to help carry the food to our table."

"Alright," he said as he walked up to the cashier and placed our order.

I returned a few minutes later and grabbed our drinks while Nick carried the tray with our food. Nick had asked for water for our pokémon to drink so that they would not be thirsty. When we reached the table, Nick and I sorted the meals before sitting down. Our pokémon were sitting at the table next to us and we decided to join the two tables together. We sat at one end of the extended table while the pokémon sat on the other end, immersed in conversation between bites of their food.

"So what are you going to show us today that's so special?" Felix asked as he took a bite of his burger.

"I'm going to teach you the basic places and things that any pokémon trainer needs to know. Luckily, you both already know that the Pokémon Centre has a red roof for trainers to be able to easily identify it. Also, since we've been staying in one since we got here, you both should already know that they offer free lodging, discounted and sometimes free food to travelling trainers, and free medical care for pokémon. The Pokémon Centre is one of the most important places you'll have to know about and be able to find. Similar to the Pokémon Centre is the Pokémart which has an iconic blue roof. In a Pokémart you'll be able to buy different varieties of pokéballs, different medicine such as potions and awakenings, mail, and some good items to have while travelling. They can be somewhat expensive for when you're just starting your pokémon journey, but it is a good idea to keep at least a few potions and empty pokéballs on you in case you need them. Lastly, I'll be bringing you to the PokéBank which is an exclusive bank for traveling pokémon trainers. There we'll check to see if you already have a trainer account. If you do, we can see if you received your first trainer payment from the government. If you don't have a trainer account at the PokéBank yet, I'll help you both set one up."

Felix and Nick stared at me wide-eyed. Nick swallowed the food he had in his mouth. "You honestly expect us to be able to do all of that this morning?" He asked me in disbelief.

"Yep! It shouldn't be too difficult. We just have to look for the distinctive green roof for the PokéBank and the well-known blue roof for the Pokémart. So let's hurry up and eat so we can get on with our day!" I shouted as I ripped off part of my quesadilla with a large bite.

Nick started to laugh as he watched me. "You're not very ladylike at all, eh, Laila?"

Felix joined in with a smirk as he looked at his brother. "You're just figuring that out now? Wow, you're slower than I thought you were Nick."

I burst out laughing at Felix's comment while Nick glared at him. "I knew before now, I just thought I should mention it. Besides, Felix, you eat more daintily than me and Laila combined!" Nick rebutted with a smirk as he gave Felix a challenging look.

"That's not very hard considering you vacuum down your food worse than a munchlax and she tends to get some food on her face and clothes most of the time she eats." Felix retorted with a smirk as we both gave him an angered look.

"Fine, you and me this afternoon, we'll settle this with a pokémon battle," Nick huffed as he started to take a drink of his pop.

"Alright, you're on!" Felix accepted the challenge with a wide grin on his face at the thought of one upping his twin in their first battle.

* * *

I walked down the streets reading the directions that Nurse Joy had provided to her this morning as the twins followed her wondering where they were headed. Snatch was riding on my shoulder again looking around at the different buildings they passed. As he looked down the street, he started to become restless as he saw a familiar green roof. Upon seeing the familiar building and knowing how long and boring the process could be inside, Snatch hopped off of my shoulder. Bam and Cinder watched as he pointed towards the park they were about to pass and looked at me hopefully. Seeing his idea, Bam and Cinder looked at their own trainers hopefully as well.

I looked towards where Snatch was pointing and smiled as I shook my head. Looking at the three pokémon who were looking expectantly at me, I sighed. "Alright, Snatch you can go play in the park. If Felix and Nick decide to let their pokémon do the same, you're in charge and I expect you to take care of them."

Snatch smiled before letting out a happy cry and showing his big toothy smile. He dashed off towards the park and began to climb a tree as he waited to see if Bam and Cinder would be allowed to join him.

Nick smiled as he looked at his totodile. "Alright, go have some fun Bam but listen to Snatch!" Bam let out an excited call as he hugged his trainer. Being given the okay, he quickly waddled over to the park to join Snatch.

Felix held Cinder as they looked at each other. "You really want to go play, Cinder?" He asked with caution. Cinder nodded before letting out a small verbal confirmation. "Fine, you can go join them at the park but I have a few rules before you do. First, listen to Snatch and have fun but be safe. Second, be careful around other people you do not know. Third, behave and look after them as well."

Having received his instructions, Cinder let out a call before pumping his small arms like one would when they are preparing to enter the ring. He then hopped down and joined his friends in the park as they started to go play.

Felix and Nick watched their starters leave them to play with a sad smile on each of their faces. I looked at each of them and feeling the mood they were in, I gently placed a hand on one of their shoulders. Feeling the pressure of my hand, they simultaneously turned to see what I wanted to say.

"I know it's hard at first to let your pokémon go have fun without you around, but it's only temporary. We'll be back in a bit to get them. Besides, they need some time to have fun and play by themselves." I told them with a small smile on my face as I attempted to console them.

"Yeah but it just feels so weird. I'm used to seeing Bam's happy face when I turn a certain way or hear his happy call if there's something that excites him." Nick commented as he watched his pokémon let out a burst of water down the metal of the slide. Snatch laughed at Cinder's recoil before he decided to slide down the now water slide. Cinder watched as Snatch did this with a slightly fearful look on his face.

"It's surprising how much they can grow on you after such a short time," Felix confided as he watched Cinder with a concerned expression.

Cinder was currently backing away from Bam slowly. Bam kept slowly approaching Cinder with a large smile on his face as he let out a mischievous chuckle. Cinder was up against a railed wall on the top of the playground. Bam was about to spray Cinder with a light jet of water when Cinder was suddenly lifted from his spot. Cinder let out a startled cry as he was lifted in the air with the small stream of water just missing him. Looking up, the two starters could see Snatch sitting on the rail overlooking them. Snatch had put his tail palm through two of the rails behind Cinder and carefully lifted the small fire pokémon.

Bam watched Snatch with frustration as he prepared to fire another jet of water at the two pokémon. Realizing Bam's intentions, Snatch quickly raised his tail and pulled Cinder into his arms. As soon as he had a firm grip on Cinder, Snatch let himself fall backwards just barely missing being hit by Bam's water gun attack. Cinder released an alarmed and scared cry as they fell backwards before hanging upside down being anchored by Snatch's tail between the bars. Snatch calmly readjusted the small fire pokémon as it released more cries. Finally, Snatch commanded Cinder to calm down, focus, and hold on to his back as hard as he could. Snatch then pulled himself up and forwards so that he was gripping onto some of the under supports of the playground equipment. He then turned his tail and pulled it out from between the bars just before Bam was about to bite it. Snatch quickly adjusted as he let himself and Cinder drop to bounce on his tail, weakening their impact.

Snatch grimaced slightly as the combined landing of himself and Cinder proved to be an added weight that slightly hurt the part of his tail that he used to cushion their fall. Snatch then put Cinder down before climbing up the playground equipment and scolding Bam on his behavior.

Seeing that Snatch could handle taking care of them, the three trainers began to walk down the street again at a casual pace. Felix hopped using his crutches as he followed his siblings before giving a final glance at his starter.

Nick then turned to Felix and commented about Bam's behavior. "You really should have a talk with Bam about his behavior and how he should interact with other pokémon. Not many pokémon take being attacked or cornered as lightly as Snatch is taking it."

Pausing in their stroll, Felix nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'll have a talk with him about it later. Right now, I think we should let Laila show us what she was planning on showing us." With that said, he readjusted himself on his crutches before hopping off.

* * *

I led the twins and their pokémon to a clean building with an emerald green roof. The sign hanging above the entrance read in white letters PokéBank and it showed the image of an open pokéball with cash and coins on the inside of it.

Felix looked at Laila with a befuddled expression on his face. "You brought us to a bank?"

"Not just any bank," I exclaimed as I pointed to the sign. "This is the PokéBank. All trainers in the Johto region make an account at one of their banks. The best part is you have to be an active pokémon trainer to make an account here."

"Why? What's the point of that?" Felix asked as he looked at the bank with skepticism.

"Easy. It helps the government and the Pokémon Federation keep track of how many pokémon trainers live in the Johto region. Also, it helps them to disburse the payments to all trainers in each pokémon league accordingly without having to look up any extra information."

Nick became interested in our conversation at this point. "Wait, we can get money by making an account here and being a pokémon trainer?" He looked at me hopefully with a big grin on his face at the idea of earning money while getting to travel and capture pokémon.

"Yes, otherwise many trainers would become broke while traveling and spending money on their pokémon, food, and lodging while they travel," I answered simply as I had figured it would be self-explanatory.

"How can the government and Pokémon Federation afford to do that? There must be at least ten thousand pokémon trainers in our region alone." Felix commented as he questioned where the money came from.

"Well, it's not as simple as them just handing out money freely. Most people attempt to become pokémon trainers at a young age. Some decide to travel and try to enter different competitions while others just want some pokémon for company and safety. As a result, the Johto region and many other regions like Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova for example decided to set aside a large budget for their pokémon trainers."

"If they have so many trainers to give money to I doubt it's enough to make a good living off of," Felix commented doubtfully.

"Still Felix, money is money! We could always use some extra money," Nick commented with a big grin on his face as he started to dream about how much he could earn.

"Well, it's enough to provide a good living if you spend it wisely but it won't make you rich overnight," I commented with a hesitant laugh as she tried to ease the two different reactions her brothers were displaying.

Nick was intrigued by my comment and he questioned me about it. "What do you mean? How much money do we make?"

"All beginning trainers receive $1500 a month for the first three years from the Pokémon Federation and it acts as a social support program from the government. This is to help trainers who are traveling with their pokémon and traveling needs, food, registration fees, and any activity they want to try to experience. On top of that, trainers who choose to challenge a specific type of league can earn additional money especially if they manage to enter and place in the annual league for their selected occupation. As for the trainers who choose to stay at home the money helps pay for food, rent, bills, and any training or recreation they decide to do. This helps them get a secure base for their lives and allows them to set up their own place if they need to as they try to find a job and earn money to keep it that way. If they're not ready to live on their own yet, they can save up their money like I did or spend it on themselves and their pokémon." I explained as thoroughly as I could.

They were both silent as they processed the new information they received. Finally, Felix began to ask the questions that had begun to pile up in his mind. "What kind of additional money can we earn by challenging a league and managing to place in said league? What happens after the three years for our bank accounts and money? What happens if we decide to stop traveling around but keep training? What if we want to keep traveling and training? What if we choose to relax at home and stop training but just keep our pokémon as company? How did you and Raveena keep earning money even though you both stayed at home for the most part?"

I silently stared at Felix struggling to keep up with his rush of questions. "Alright, slow down, one at a time." I joked with him before smiling and starting to answer his questions as best as I could. "Well, for starters, the $1500 lasts for three years to help start trainers on whatever path they choose to take with their lives. After those three years are up, a multitude of things can happen. After the first three years, a trainer can file a form and submit it to the Pokémon Federation if they are continuing their journey as a pokémon trainer in their respective field. If they have shown that they can rank in their respective competition and show promise for their future in the field, they will be given a continuation for the next league they participate in. After they finish that league, they must apply again for another year of income from the government. In addition to that, each proven step a trainer can make in their chosen field gives them additional money that will last as long as they keep a competing trainer status."

Nick cut in for clarification, "by each proven step in their chosen field you mean like a badge or ribbon right?"

I smiled and nodded at him. "Yep, that's right. I don't know how much it is for earning a ribbon or anything but mom told me that for each badge a trainer earns they receive a onetime bonus of $100 and an extra $10 a month after that. Also, if a trainer manages to earn eight badges and registers to compete in the league, they get a onetime bonus of $100 and they earn an additional monthly $10 for each round they are able to pass. However if they decide to stop being a qualified trainer or lose their qualification after the three years, then the trainer loses that additional income unless they decide to become a qualified trainer again and are approved to do so."

Nick went wide-eyed as his smile grew. "So I could get an extra $800 by earning eight badges in our region. Sweet!"

Felix smiled as he reminded Nick, "You're forgetting about the extra $80 a month you would earn if you pull that off."

Nick's grin widened further to the point where I was scared that it would start to break his face. He hugged his brother as he became overwhelmed by the idea knocking Felix off balance and onto the ground. Felix grunted before shouting for Nick to get off of him. After Nick got up, I helped Felix stand and readjust on his crutches.

"Anyways, if a trainer is not selected to continue their journey or chooses to quit and just keep their pokémon as company they have to close their account at the PokéBank temporarily or permanently as they are not going to be receiving any funds from the Pokémon Federation unless they are approved to be a certified participating trainer again. In that case, they have to transfer their remaining money to a bank account at a different bank. If they are reinstated as a certified participating trainer, they can choose whether to transfer their money back to the PokéBank account or just leave their money in the other bank account as their new payments go into the PokéBank account. For trainers who stay at home but want to keep training in preparation for entering the league at a future point in time they can send a letter to the Pokémon Federation explaining their choice, their reasons for doing so, and request an examiner to challenge them. If they are approved for their request and manage to either impress or defeat the examiner, they will receive funding for an additional year. Otherwise, they will be denied. However, if you challenge the examiner, they will start with one pokémon and have their team around the first badge level. After each year, they will add an extra pokémon to their team and/or raise the difficulty of their team. I had to challenge the examiner for the last three years. As for Raveena, mom hired her as a referee after she decided to move to Blackthorn City to live with us since mom was the local gym leader."

"Wait a minute," Nick ordered as he tried to mentally add something up. "If you had to challenge the examiner for three years and they brought an additional pokémon or a stronger team each time, then how is that fair? You'd need to have a really strong team and I don't think that Snatch could pull it off by himself. You'd probably need more than just Snatch." After Nick had run his mouth, his brain caught up with what he just said. His eyes widened in realization before he started to hound me with questions. "Wait, you have other pokémon on you?! When did you catch them? How did you catch them without any of us noticing? What kind of pokémon are they?"

I shook my head before walking to the doors of the PokéBank. Opening one of the doors, I smiled mischievously at Nick, "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't." With that said, I started to walk in. Felix hopped into the bank behind me as he eyed the pokéballs on my waist carefully. Seeing some of them with different colored stars carved into them he started to analyze what they might represent or mean. Nick followed us in after a couple minutes and walked up to where we were standing. Having them both following me again, I led them to a desk at the side of the entrance where a customer service representative was typing on a computer while sitting behind the desk.

Looking up, the young woman smiled at us as she noticed some of her hair moving in front of her face. She readjusted her short brown hair so that they were no longer lying on her purple framed glasses. "Sorry about that, how can I help you today?" She asked me before taking a quick glance at my brothers who were standing awkwardly behind me.

"That's alright," I assured her before motioning towards my brothers. "Actually, it's my brothers here who need the help. You see, they just became official trainers and received their first pokémon yesterday. They need some help to open an account and have any remaining questions answered."

"Alright, follow me boys and I'll show you where to go," the young woman instructed as she moved away from her desk. The twins began to follow after her as I walked to a nearby couch and sat down while I waited for them to finish.

The twins were directed towards a line where multiple people stood. The woman who worked here smiled and explained to them what they would have to do. "Just wait in this line until you are called to one of the counters. When you are called, give the person behind the counter your trainer card and tell them you wish to open a trainer account. From there, it will just be providing a little bit of information to them, deciding on a four digit pin code, and signing the back of your new card. Don't lose the bank card you receive as it is the key way to access your money. If you do lose it or it gets stolen come to the PokéBank as soon as possible. We'll be able to block out your lost card and can give you a replacement card. Do either of you have any other questions?"

"When do we receive our money?" Nick asked with a large smile on his face.

"Typically, the money is disbursed on the 1st of each month. Since you are just starting your journey and opening an account now, you will likely receive the first payment on September 1st since it is the beginning of the next month. They will likely qualify that as your first of the thirty six monthly payments." She informed them with a smile before returning to her desk.

After an hour of waiting for the twins to finish at the bank, they finally approached me. Felix started to poke me in an attempt to wake me up but to no avail. Becoming aggravated by my sleeping and Nick's attempts to wake me, Felix shifted his weight to his good leg and the crutch supporting it as he lifted his bad leg. He raised his crutch that he had taken the weight off of and jabbed me with it, startling me awake.

"Huh?" I asked being disoriented as I was just awakened. "Oh, hey, how'd the card thing go?"

Nick and Felix both showed me their cards with a smile. They both seemed proud of the fact that they had a new card with their name printed on it. The PokéBank cards were an emerald green card with white writing and a half pokéball symbol across the top. Below that on the left side in gold writing was the twin's name on their respective cards. Finally under their names, was their account number written in small white numbers.

"Congrats you guys. That's one step closer to becoming an adult and a pokémon master," I complimented them as I got up. "There's one thing you'll probably both want to do before we go to our next destination though."

They both looked at me confused but followed me to a set of bank machines in the front foyer of the bank separated from the rest of bank and outside by glass walls and a glass door on each horizontal side. "You both have your bank cards for your main bank right?" I asked them.

"Of course, it would be stupid not to do so." Felix commented with a smirk as Nick started to rub the back of his head as he let out a nervous chuckle.

I smiled as I pulled out an envelope and gave it to Nick with a smirk as I instructed him. "Put $200 in the envelope to put in the machine." He went wide eyed and clutched his wallet as his eyes started to water at the thought of losing that much money. I was about to console him but Felix spoke up before I did.

Felix was not as patient for Nick's drama as I was. "Just suck it up and put the money in already. I know that you kept at least $300 of the $500 that mom gave each of us in your wallet."

Nick turned to him surprised, "How did you know that?"

"I'm your brother. I know you. You would prefer to keep any money, especially if you receive a large amount of it, on you instead of secured in a bank account." Felix replied as he started to rub the bridge of the nose in an attempt to relieve the building pressure that was threatening to give him a headache.

"You both should spend that money wisely," I added in. "Mom said that gym leaders typically make $5000 a month without the bonuses. So, she gave you two a pretty large amount of her income for this month."

Nick looked surprised at that, "Really? I thought she made more than that."

"Mom typically makes more money than that due to the bonus that comes from defeating a challenger. Each time she beats a challenger, she earns an additional $10 for the month. If she defeats a lot of challengers in a month, it can really add up for her. Unfortunately, she probably won't be having many challengers until later this year."

Nick gave a solemn nod before he sighed and followed our instructions by putting the money into the envelope. With that done, I led them to the machine and told Felix to do it first. Stepping up to the machine, Felix followed the instructions and inserted his PokéBank card. When he was prompted to, he inserted his newly made pin code and accessed the main menu of the ATM. I approached him and told him that he wanted to do a transfer. Listening to my instructions, he hit the transfer button before glancing back at me.

"You want to transfer money from your debit card." I informed him and he again followed my instructions before being prompted by the machine to insert his debit card in the second slot. Upon seeing his choices, he clicked the 'to PokéBank from chequing account of the debit card' option on the menu and transferred over the $200 like I had told him to. When he finished transferring the money, he clicked no to the questions about wanting to do anything else and wanting a receipt. The screen then displayed a thank you message before returning to normal and ejecting his cards.

Nick walked up and inserted his PokéBank card into the machine before punching in his code. "What do I do now, Laila?" He inquired as he looked at the different options on the screen.

"You'll want to do a deposit, from manual or cheque depending which the machine says. After you press the correct one, it will ask how much money you wish to deposit. Enter the amount, hit ok, and then put the sealed envelope containing the money into this slot," I instructed him as I glanced at the screen and pointed at the deposit opening on the machine. Felix watched him interested to learn. Finally when Nick was finished and got his card back, we headed to the exit of the bank.

Smiling, I led them out the door and told them to stand in front of the bank while holding their cards in front of them. After they were in position, I took a picture of them to show mom when we got back home after our journey. With that done, I led them down the street further away from the park we had left our pokémon in.

Nick and Felix were not following me right away and I did not know why until Nick questioned me, "Aren't we going to go and get our pokémon before we leave the area?"

I turned back towards them and told them what I was planning on doing, "I figured that we should let them play while I show you both what the inside of a Pokémart looks like. Besides, maybe we can find a nice treat to surprise them with."

They looked torn about the idea but decided to follow me to the Pokémart. After a few minutes I decided to say something that I had thought about while we were in the bank.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that mom gave you that much money each. Normally she keeps a tight hold on her money and even then she only has a small recreational budget." I commented as they slowly walked behind me letting my thoughts become vocal.

Nick looked up from the emerald green plastic card that he held in his hands. "Why? She knew we were starting on our journey and she said that it was to help us get started and for us to use if we needed it in an emergency."

"I know, but Mom gave each of you a tenth of her monthly base salary. I'm not sure about how she's doing now that we're traveling but I know she used to have only a small amount left for recreational and miscellaneous use." I explained and quickly tried to fix the hurt I had apparently caused the twins. "Sorry, I was just thinking out loud about how it's unusual for her to do something like that, especially considering the amount she gave each of you. Then again, given the circumstance I can see why she did it." Nick and Felix were silent as they sluggishly paced behind me thinking about what I had just told them. As we walked I thought to myself '_Of course they probably didn't realize how she was doing for cash. They're pretty much kids. I'm not surprised that mom didn't tell them before now._'

* * *

Meanwhile, Snatch and Cinder were starting to become worn out by Bam's excitement and fascination with trying to spray them with water. At the moment, Snatch and Cinder were resting in a tree while Bam fired jets of water at them using his water gun attack. Some of them were far off while others were close to hitting them. Finally, Snatch had had enough and used swift to intercept Bam's latest water gun. Snatch fired a barrage of golden stars from his tail and as they intercepted the water gun attack, the stars began to spin and break apart the water stream sending sprinkles of water falling in their path. All three of the pokémon watched in shock and awe at the combination their moves had produced.

After watching the last of the stars from Snatch's swift attack dissipate, Bam turned and looked up at the other pokémon in the tree with a new desire in his eyes. Seeing this, the two pokémon hiding in the tree became unsettled until Bam elaborated further. "[Guys, come down here and let's try making some more combinations like that! What we just did was awesome, Snatch!]"

Hearing what Bam wanted, Snatch and Cinder looked at each other. Cinder decided to tell Snatch what he thought of the situation, "[We might as well go down there and join him. As long as he wants to do something constructive like practice combinations I don't see a problem. After all, he does have a point. The combination you two pulled off was pretty sweet.]"

Snatch looked at Cinder analyzing the truth behind his statement. Finally, Snatch nodded and commanded Cinder to get on before he climbed down the tree. "[Okay, who wants to start?]"

* * *

Nick, Felix, and I were looking around at the different accessories and supplies the Pokémart had for sale. Nick had become fascinated with the different kinds of pokémon medicine that were displayed in the cabinets by the counter. He seemed to want to buy some but was quickly surprised by the amount that each kind of medication cost. Felix was looking at the trainer supplies and had picked up two escape ropes which were packaged sets of rope with different attachments that could be used in different kinds of situations a trainer may encounter during their travels. I decided to take a couple pictures of them looking around to show mom how they reacted the first time they were looking around a Pokémart.

After returning my camera to my bag, I strolled around the store searching for anything I may find interesting or important for our journey. I stopped in front of the postcards and decided to buy a couple that looked interesting to me. I decided on one postcard that was an aerial view of New Bark Town from on the water surrounding part of the city. The other post card I chose was a homey feeling one that was a picture of the front of Professor Elm's lab that had been taken in the spring. As I headed to the counter where Felix and Nick were waiting for me I noticed one more thing I wanted to buy. It was a small bandana looking scarf. It was white in colour with hints of light blue and silver in it. Picking it up, I brought it with me to the cash register.

Nick looked at me with a frown as I approached. "Laila, why didn't you tell us it was so expensive here?"

Felix and I looked at him questioningly. Motioning to the price tags over the pokéballs I slowly understood where he was coming from. Felix noticing the number above the pokéballs looked at the price tag on the escape ropes in his hand. As he saw the price, his jaw slowly dropped.

I smiled as they both turned and looked at me like I was insane. Laughing, I pointed to a symbol next to the absurd amounts of money that was labelled for the different merchandise. "Remember how I made you both put $200 into your accounts at the PokéBank? This is why," I commented as I pointed to the price tag above the pokéball in the display case.

"What does that have to do with any of this?" They asked simultaneously in frustration.

"It's pretty easy once you get used to it but I guess it may be confusing at first." I remarked thinking about my first time walking into a Pokémart and having everything explained and shown to me. "The PokéBank card is special from a normal bank card. You see, it mainly deals with an international currency amongst pokémon focussed establishments such as the Pokémart. This international currency is usually referred to as pokémon dollars, or simply as poké depending where you come from or what you prefer to call it."

At this point, the guy behind the counter leaned forward and cut in to my lesson to the twins. "Lately, some trainers have been referring to them as poképoints as well." Upon seeing the twin's confused reactions, he continued his explanation. "They sometimes call them poképoints as a reference to the fact that the currency system is made up of points that are spent on pokémon and merchandise or equipment related to them."

The twins were getting more interested and more confused at this point. I decided to cut in and try to clarify the system more for them. "The amounts displayed in the store here are in poké. Luckily for many trainers, poké and our typical currency are not equal. One dollar is equal to ten pokémon dollars. You can tell the difference by the symbol displayed on the price tag. If there is a symbol that looks like a capital "P" and two lines going horizontally through the middle of the tail of the letter, then the currency is poké. If it's not that symbol, the amount is in regular money."

Felix gradually nodded as it started to make sense to him. However, he still had some questions, "What if we want to buy something using regular money but all of our money goes automatically to the PokéBank card?"

I asked them to show me their PokéBank cards for a moment. Nick had his already out so he handed his to me. "Do you both see these symbols here that look like the currency symbols of our region?" I questioned them as I pointed to two small engraved symbols in the top right corner of the card. Seeing them nod, I continued explaining the system to them. "Those are actually micro computer chips inserted into the card that when placed into the card reading machines in a store, bank, or ATM detect what monetary system they are using and outputs the amount accordingly."

"If it can do all that, then why did you keep your old bank card?" Nick asked me shocked at the technological differences in the two cards.

"I kept it because as you two begin to travel around more, you'll realize that having your PokéBank card makes spending money and buying anything you need much easier and can be more convenient than carrying the two cards. However, you may also learn that it is easy to splurge or spend more than you want to if you do not carefully monitor you're spending. So by keeping some money on a separate card which I only use in emergencies, it helps me save some of my money." I explicated to them.

The shopkeeper smiled at me as I finished my lesson to my brothers. Noticing that their hands were empty, he decided to leave his spot behind the counter and approached us. "Do you boys need any help finding something? If you're not sure about anything feel free to ask me and I'd be happy to explain for you, if your guide doesn't mind that is."

Feeling exhausted from being their encyclopedia all morning, I agreed to let him show them some different equipment and accessories a beginning trainer may need. "That would be great, thanks. They have a limit of 2000 poké each." I told the shopkeeper as I walked to the couch in the corner of the store and grabbed a trainer magazine to read while I relaxed and waited for the twins.

An hour later, the twins approached me each with a basket of new trainer equipment and pokémon medicine in their baskets. Smiling, I glanced into each of their baskets and examined what they had grabbed. Nick had grabbed five pokéballs, two potions, a paralyze heal, and two antidote. Felix on the other hand decided to choose two escape ropes, a potion, and three pokéballs. After they had paid for their items, I put up my items and purchased them. The shopkeeper carefully rung up my two post cards, the silk scarf, three potions, an awakening, a paralyze heal, an antidote, and five pokéballs before telling me my total. After I paid, we were given a warm farewell from the shopkeeper as we left the store and headed back to the park to meet up with our pokémon.

The twins slowly walked down the street enjoying the sights while I strolled a little ahead of them cleaning the disposable camera I had recently been using as I did so. As they approached the park, I motioned for them to be quiet and stop as I held up my camera. Slowly, I walked further ahead and tried to remain hidden while I looked for our pokémon in the park. Seeing them about to slide down the slide in a train formation, I raised my camera to my eyes. Setting it up for the right angle with no disturbances, I flashed my camera as they slid down. Cinder was at the front being held onto by Bam who was being held in place by Snatch. Snatch had his tail extended to give them a push down the slide. All three of them released a happy cry as they slid down. However, Snatch stopped when he heard the audible click of my camera which he had become used to hearing since I started taking pictures like mad a few days before and the multiple other times he had been exposed to a camera since he became my pokémon. As soon as they reached the bottom he slowly and cautiously began to walk towards my position.

Seeing this I motioned for the twins to follow me as we walked through the trees. The three pokémon were carefully eyeing the treeline where we were coming out so Nick decided to call out to them so that they would know it was safe. Bam immediately brightened as he heard his trainer's voice. Witnessing the reaction, Felix and I soon followed and called out to our own pokémon who also dropped their defensive guard and happily ran towards us as we walked out of the forest line. I decided to take another picture of this since they looked so happy to see us again. Snatch was the first of the pokémon to reach us and he jumped into my arms with a happy cry as I gave him a tight hug. When I let go, he had a huge smile on his face as he settled on my shoulder and raised my camera pointing it at the twins and their pokémon. Seeing how both Felix and Nick were reacting along with the happy smiles on their pokémon's faces made for a picture perfect moment which Snatch and I managed to capture on the camera.

"Did you guys have fun?" Nick asked as he gave his pokémon a tight hug. All three of the pokémon let out happy cries before they jumped back to the ground. Cinder stayed by Felix's feet while Bam and Snatch went to the field in front of us.

Snatch looked at Bam and turned his head sideways, questioning if his partner was ready. Bam revealed a toothy smirk before nodding slightly with a determined look in his eyes. Seeing this, Snatch nodded as well and started to run towards Bam before jumping so that he was curled up in a ball above him. Bam tilted his head upwards and let out a water gun that sent Snatch shooting upwards while in his balled up form, making him roll as he ascended. Snatch then started to straighten and pushed his arms downwards while extending his tail up and sideways before he started to spin. This new combined form sent the water spraying off to the sides. Finally, Snatch smirked and used swift to send shining golden stars flying off with water droplets descending along its path. As the stars flew off, Bam lessened the pressure of his water stream as Snatch curled back into a ball, slowly rolling down the weakening water pillar until he was almost at the bottom. At this point, Bam released one more jet of water as Snatch straightened and used iron tail creating a spray of water around the two pokémon as Snatch landed on his tail behind Bam. They then proceeded to smile and bow, signalling the end of their performance.

Felix, Nick, and I stared in awe at what Bam and Snatch had managed to come up with and perform while we were gone. Cinder having assisted in the planning stages smiled proudly at the end result of their practice. Snatch and Bam looked at each other with big smiles before shaking hands and coming back to us.

"That was amazing Bam! I never imagined that you and Snatch would be able to team up and create a performance like that!" Nick cried as he gave his totodile a big hug and continued to praise it.

I had a huge smile on my face as I held Snatch. "That was great Snatch! I'm proud of you, buddy," I told him as I ruffled the fur on his head.

Felix smiled as he looked at us before glancing at Cinder and wondering if his pokémon had helped with the organization and construction of the performance in some way. Shrugging it off, he let Cinder climb onto his shoulder as he waited for us to settle down.

After we all calmed down from the unexpected performance and the twins being separated from their pokémon for the first time, we started to head back to the Pokémon Centre. After a twenty minute walk, we arrived at our destination to see a sight we had not expected to see.


End file.
